Mr Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development has revealed that holding the National Sports Festival in February 2021 is feasible despite the second wave of COVID-19 in the country.
The festival, which has been postponed thrice, has been fixed for February 14 to 28, 2021 in Benin City, the Edo State capital.
Athletes, who had lamented the frequent postponements are unsure if the new date is feasible, but Dare, while addressing journalists in Lagos on Friday, was optimistic the NSF would hold next February.
“We (earlier) picked January 3 because we wanted to get the event out of the way quickly. We saw the reality and it wasn’t possible but now there is a consensus from the ministry, the state government and I hope that the new date will work. I’m eager to see that happen,” Dare stated.
“We have worked with current and existing realities. If we had started on December 3, we would have been smacked in the middle of the second wave. Thirteen thousand athletes, coaches and administrators in one place, that would have been a disaster. So, the PTF, the ministry and the state government have been working with an actionable date and we’re glad that at this point, February 14 to 28 is acceptable and feasible.
“We’ve taken into consideration the athletes, the PTF and concerns about COVID-19, the desires of the state, the time the athletes need for camping, we deliberated on all of that when the National Council on Sports met and we had a unanimous agreement that the date is feasible and I look forward to that time like the athletes.”
Credit: punchng.com
