NSF: We are hosting to win, Edo State Deputy Gov

Edo State Deputy Governor, Philip Shaibu, says the state, hosts of the 2020 National Sports Festival, has put machinery in place to ensure they emerge victorious at the country’s top sports showpiece.

Shaibu stated this during the recent inauguration of a six-man committee by the Edo State Government to prepare a road map for a successful outing of Team Edo at the forthcoming 20th NSF. The sports fiesta, tagged Edo 2020, is scheduled to hold in different parts of Benin City, the Edo State capital, from March 20 to April 4.

The Deputy Governor, who also doubles as the Chairman, Local Organising Committee, Edo 2020, charged the committee headed by Godwin Dudu-Orumen, Chairman, Edo State Sports Commission, to immediately put machinery in motion towards hosting the third Edo State Sports Festival, where the state expects to build a strong and formidable team for the NSF.

“We must not fail, we are committing all these  resources because we want to redefine national competitive sports in Nigeria. We are not just hosting, we are hosting to win and win clean and show the world what national sports festivals should be.

“There’s no automatic ticket for anybody.  Every athlete, old or young, has to compete for a place in the 32 sports lined up for the festival,” Shaibu stated.

In all, 32 sports including football and traditional sports, will be competed for at the festival, with the main venue located at the University of Benin Sports Complex.

Meanwhile, the Unity Torch for the Games begins movement from Igarra, the headquarters of Akoko Edo Local Government Area, on Wednesday to other LGAs of the state, before terminating its journey at the Oredo LGA on January 20.

The 18 LGA chairmen will receive the Unity Torch in their respective areas during the six-day tour.

The competition at the LGA levels runs from January 23 to 28, 2020, while the zonal elimination holds from February 1 to 4. Qualifiers from the zones proceed to Benin on February 10 for the main festival and final selection, which runs till February 16, when the festival would be declared closed by Governor Godwin Obaseki.