The Ogun Government says it will be presenting 742 athletes in the forthcoming National Sports Festival taking place in the state.
Mr Wasiu Isiaka, the Commissioner for Sports, said this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abeokuta on Tuesday.
Isiaka said that the state athletes would be participating in all the sporting activities, with a huge number of entries.
He assured that the state would surpass its achievements at the last edition in Asaba, Delta State, considering the preparations toward the festival.
“Ogun athletes will be participating in all the sporting events and that means we are having a maximum number of entries.
“The state’s target is to score 100 per cent; our target is the total number of available gold.
“I am optimistic that the state will come first this time around going by our level of preparation,” he said.
Isiaka confirmed that the athletes were well motivated for the festival with an encouraging camping system.
“Our athletes are well motivated; if you look at the camping system, I am not too sure there’s any state that can match Ogun.
“We camp our athletes where they prefer. Scrabble, for example, is in one apartment doing their preparations; cycling is in Abeokuta here getting used to the routes they will use for the games.
“The first motivation is by giving everyone what they want.
“We are camping our athletes and at the same time exposing them to competitions. Our basketball is presently in a competition in Lagos,” he said.
The commissioner said that all the centres for the event are ready, adding that the country should expect a world class sports festival.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the state took the 8th position with 70 medals in the 21st sports festival in Asaba, Delta State.
NAN also reports that the 22nd National Sports Festival tagged ‘Gateway Games’ will kick-off on May 16 to end May 30. (NAN)
