NDDC committed to developing athletes discovered at Niger Delta Sports Festival

A new approach to grassroots sports development will see athletes discovered at the ongoing Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) undergo periodical camping where scientific methods of training would be applied.

Sir Itiako Ikpokpo, the Co-Chairman of the Main Organising Committee (MOC) of the festival, dropped the hint at a media parley with journalists covering the games and said over 60 athletes have already been spotted as at Day 4.

“This festival is not about who came first or who won gold. Our scouts are looking out for hints of potential, quality that can be groomed for future success,” Ikpokpo responded to a question about objectives of the festival.

He said the scouts made up of coaches, former athletes and scouts have so far submitted 64 names and most of them were not those that came first or second.

“We seek to set up camps for the identified athletes with a view to putting them through scientific research-based training supervised by certified coaches,” added Ikpokpo who is the lead consultant for the project.

“The real work is not this festival, it is to design and implement the plan to nurture the talents discovered here to go on and replace those who have been representing Nigeria,” he added.

Sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as part of its mandate to improve living conditions of people of the nine mandate states, the NDSF had about 3,000 athletes and 500 officials competing in 17 sports.

It began on April 1 and will end on April 8 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.