No fewer than, 2,000 kids and youths drawned from over 300 primary and secondary schools across the six area councils in the Federal Capital Territory, FCT excelled at the second edition of the Abuja City Kids and Youth athletics classic events held at the main bowl of the National Stadium, Abuja recently.
FCT kids and youth classic athletics is an initiatives designed to cater for kids between the ages of 10 – 14 years, which is aimed at providing a platform for supplementary sporting and social interaction that offers children and youths the opportunity to be engaged in athletic activities.
Also, it is kids and play after school initiative used in empowering and helping the youths create a brighter future and to stimulates kids/youths’ interest in enthusiastically taking up sports, particularly athletics for recreation and profession instead of crime.
Speaking with National Mirror, at the closing ceremony of 3-day event, weekend in Abuja, the Chairman of Organising Committee, Mr. Mike Enahoro hailed the performance of the kids, saying that there is hope for in Nigeria.
He said: “We are looking for children who love athletics and kids who are going to become elite athletes in the field of athletics and my joy today is seeing old boys and girls running 200 meter in less than 30 seconds while other are doing 100 meters in less than 15 seconds.
“We invited coaches to help identify kids with potentials who could be nurtured to go on to represent the country in any national and international competition in the near future.”
Enahoro however, identified lack of sponsorship, inadequate funding as the only challenge confronting the completion.” Most of our sponsors have constraints because of the economic situation of the country. Because our training is IAAF standard which implies a lot of money”, he said
He also stated that 2,000 kids participated in the event were drawn from 300 public and private primary, secondary schools in the FCT.
Meanwhile, the children could not hide their excitement at the prospect of rubbing shoulders with their peers, while some of them were provided with a chance of learning the rudiments of the sport, such as the use of running spikes and starting block.