NYG 2023: Team Bayelsa Storm Asaba To Challenge Delta State’s Dominance
Bayelsa State contingents for the 7th National Youth Games arrived in Asaba, Delta State, on Wednesday, ahead of the games scheduled to run from September 20 through 30.
The Director of Bayelsa State Sports Council, Sir Braveman Wodi, led the 456-member contingent, comprising athletes and officials.
The team will compete in 33 out of 35 sports: football, volleyball, gymnastics, chess, badminton, handball, cycling, table tennis, swimming, basketball, scrambling, weightlifting, and wrestling.
The young lads will be hoping to repeat the heroics of Team Bayelsa in last year’s National Sports Festival in Asaba, Delta State, where they finished second surpassing the record set in Benin-City, Edo State, in 2021.
Bayelsa State in the zonal elimination in Calabar Cross Rivers State made a clear statement of intent, qualifying in all the team sports they participated in.
Meanwhile, the Delta State Government has assured the participants of a hitch-free event commencing on Saturday with an opening ceremony set for Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba.
The Chairman of Delta State Sports Commission, Chief Tonobok Okowa, gave the assurance at a world press conference to usher in the fiesta, promising excellent and smooth organisation in the games and stating that the athletes are going to witness an unprecedented sporting experience like never before.
Okowa, who doubles as president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria and Confederation of African Athletics Zone 3, noted that this year’s edition of the games will see spectators occupy the stands unlike previous editions, where stands were virtually empty, saying that Deltans are expected to fill the stands to cheer the athletes.
The seasoned sports administrator explained that over 23 venues are fully ready, except for minor finishing touches, while equipment for the gymnastics centre has arrived and will be installed in a matter of days.
All 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory are participating in the games with over 4,500 athletes, who started arriving in Asaba ahead of the opening ceremony on September 23, 2023.
