Patrick-Estate Onyedum, chairman, Anambra State Sports Development Commission (ASSDC), has said that a total 756 primary and secondary schools have registered to participate in the state’s 2024 school sports festival.

Mr Onyedum said this at the pre-competition press conference ahead of the festival scheduled to hold in Awka.

He said the festival, which would be held between May 2 and June 7, would be bigger and better than the 2023 edition, where 600 schools participated.

He said the festival would feature 12 sporting events including athletics, basketball, chess, football, scrabble, swimming, table tennis, tennis, taekwondo, volleybal, cricket and Ncho in U-12, U-14 and U-18 categories.

The chairman said the first school sports festival was hugely successful with the discovery of young and raw, talented children across Anambra.

“I welcome you all to the 2024 edition of Anambra State School Sports Festival, a flagship Programme under the Anambra State Sports Solution Initiative of the Sports Development Commission.

“At about this time last year, we were all gathered here for the ceremonial kick off of the first edition, the children from that festival went to National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State and shook the country at that level of sports development.

“Children of Anambra became once again, princes and princesses of the tracks, karate and taekwondo prodigies as well as beach volleyball champions and national sensation.

“As I speak to you, some of those athletes are on academic scholarships in some of the best schools in Abuja and Anambra,” he said.

Mr Onyedum congratulated Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, the commissioner for education for giving students and pupils the opportunity to develop themselves academically and sports wise.

He said the sports commission would continue to support them, especially in the area of sports infrastructure.

“Maybe I should suggest that going forward, it should be considered an offence not to allow your students to participate in a festival like this.

“That child you are denying the opportunity to participate in sports may be the world champion in-waiting in the next five or 10 years.

“Preparations for this year’s National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State has started and talents that will be discovered from this festival will constitute up to 85 per cent of Anambra team to that Games.

“I want to thank the Honourable Commissioner for Education, Prof. Ngozi Chuma-Udeh, for believing in this project and providing the raw materials with which we are doing this work,” he said.

In his speech, Gov. Chukwuma Soludo said his administration would continue to support sports for greater empowerment impact.

Mr Soludo, who was represented by Ernest Ezeajughi, his chief of staff, called on the Sports Development Commission to expand its scope of activities to get more people engaged in sporting activities.

According to him, we acknowledge the abundance of sports talents in Anambra and this administration is resolute in bringing out the best in children in order to channel their minds to positive ventures so that they can contribute to development.

“We want to call on relevant stakeholders to key into the sports sector in the state to achieve better results,” he said.

(NAN)