Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare, has congratulated Team Nigeria for a remarkable performance at the just concluded World Athletics U-20 Championships in Nairobi, Kenya.
He gave the commendation on Sunday shortly after Team Nigeria finished third at the just concluded championships.
“These young Team Nigeria athletes deserve our respect for representing this country so well. We congratulate them on their record-breaking performance in Nairobi, Kenya.
“Finishing in third place on the medals table out of the 114 countries that participated in the Championships is no mean feat.
“It is a commendable achievement that places Nigeria on the world map of world athletics and signposts a new trajectory for the sport in Nigeria,” he said.
Dare pledged the ministry’s commitment to keep nurturing and grooming the young stars.
“We will keep these young heroes and heroines, monitor, support, train and invest in them. We will design a programme for them and have them prepared for more victories.
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“We have started building a new and younger generation of Nigerian athletes that will surely do us proud. There is so much hope for the future,” he added.
The minister also used the opportunity to thank President Muhammadu Buhari for his continuous support for sports development in Nigeria.
“President Muhammadu Buhari has continuously supported our sports development programmes anytime we present them to him.
“He has helped in creating a very conducive environment for us to thrive and what has happened in Nairobi, Kenya is proof of this support,” he said.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Nigeria achieved its best-ever showing at the Championships with a total of four gold and three Bronze medals.
Team Nigeria finished third on the medals table behind hosts Kenya and Finland.
In another development, the ministry clarified the process of cash rewards for medal-winning athletes at the just concluded championships.
“We know about the NCAA regulations and we won’t want any of these young and promising talents, who are our hope for the future to breach the rules as it affects the rewards we announced.
“As such, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development would hold the cash rewards in trust for those affected by the NCAA regulations while the others not affected by it would be handed their rewards,” the ministry noted.
(NAN)
