National Youth Games: Stakeholders commend NSC

Some of those who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the first edition of the NYG was a partial success.They however said subsequent editions needed to be improved upon for its objectives to be achieved.NAN reports that the NYG is an initiative of the National Sports Commission (NSC) to discover talents within […]

Some of those who spoke to the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said the first edition of the NYG was a partial success.
They however said subsequent editions needed to be improved upon for its objectives to be achieved.
NAN reports that the NYG is an initiative of the National Sports Commission (NSC) to discover talents within the ages of 13 and 17.
Benue Director of Sports, David Orngu, said the games’ rules have to be stated clearly before the next edition of the games to avoid contradictions in information to participants.
“This is the maiden edition and there must be some hiccups. But, by and large, it has been impressive because the organisers responded promptly to issues as they occurred.
“I think the screening and accreditation of the athletes needed to be improved upon in subsequent editions.
“Also, the rules have to be clearly stated and communicated on time to the participating states, because when you make your preparations and have things changed overnight, it is not easy to adapt.
“When we got here, some of the directors of sports were thrown into a state of confusion.
“But, I hope the rules will come early in the subsequent editions for states to prepare according to it, in terms of the category of athletes to bring,’’ Orngu said.
Bauchi State Director of Sports, Inuwa Isa, said stiffer penalties should be imposed on coaches and states found involved in presenting over-aged athletes.
“The screening was done well, but the problems we had were caused by the coaches. So, I think stiff penalties should be handed down for the coaches involved in presenting over-aged athletes.
“Penalties like suspending them from sporting activities for some time and, if possible, the concerned state should also be penalised,’’ Isa said.
He added that there should be provision of new equipment for all events in subsequent editions.
A retired FIFA referee, Ameenu Muhammed, told NAN that in the games’ subsequent editions, athletes should not be restricted to participating in only one sport.
He said they should be allowed to explore other sports.
“I appreciate the fact that at a point the organisers allowed that athletes accredited for a particular sporting event can also participate in other events. But it was later stopped.
“When they reversed that decision, it reduced the ability to discover other talents which may be hidden in some other sports.
“There was a situation of a boy from Katsina state who registered as a volleyballer but when his state’s football team was not complete, he came in as their goalkeeper and he was so fantastic.
“But they later said it was not allowed anymore, which did not give the coaches the opportunity to see the other form of ability in him.
“And they need to see this to know if it was sheer luck or he is actually good in football.
“So, I want to advise the organisers to allow age limit to be the only criteria and not restrict the athletes to a particular sport.
“This is because an athlete may feel he is good in a particular sport, while the reality is that he is better in another one,’’ Muhammed said.
The coach of Oyo state’s football team, Sanusi Musiliu, advised that records should be kept to avoid making mistakes of featuring over-aged athletes in future editions.
“I want to advise that the screening committee should be better equipped to have a better screening done, starting from the next edition.
“They should also keep records of this first edition, so that those that are 17 years old this year will not be 17 again next year,’’ he said.(NAN)