Delta State government will sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development ahead of next year’s National Sports Festival, tagged Asaba 2022.
Delta State was awarded the hosting right for the biennial Sports fiesta at the end of Edo 2020. Team Delta are the current champion of the National Sports Festival having won seven times from the last nine editions since 2000. Delta is also the champion of the National Youth Games, winning all six editions of the games since inception in 2013.
The Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission, Chief Tonobok Okowa, stated that the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Sports Ministry would take place soon.
Okowa also revealed that Delta State would construct additional new facilities ahead of the National Sports Festival saying: “The facilities will be ready.”
Okowa stated that having retained the National Sports Festival title in Edo State, and the National Youth Games in Ilorin, Kwara State, the attention of the State Government had shifted to preparing and hosting one of the best games in the annals of the National Sports Festival.
He hinted that Governor Ifeanyi Okowa was happy with the States’ performance at the National Youth Games in Ilorin, adding that Delta State is now ready to kick start preparations for the hosting of the National Sports Festival in 2022.
Chief Okowa said that contract for the new venues for the Games would soon be awarded, stressing that majority of the facilities were already on ground.
According to him, there was the need to add new facilities to ensure that the state lived up to its billing as the home of sports in Nigeria.
On plans by the Sports Ministry to tackle age cheats at the Youth Games, Okowa lauded Sports Minister, Chief Sunday Dare, for taking the decision, adding that Delta State Sports Commission had been at the forefront of discouraging age cheats at the Games.
