AFN confirms Nigeria’s participation in int’l competitions
The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has confirmed that Nigeria will participate in major international competitions, including the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) U-20 and U-18 Championships.
The federation’s Secretary, Amechi Akawo, said in an interview yesterday in Lagos that the upcoming elections for the new management boards of federations to emerge would not hinder participation.
Akawo said that athletes had been in camp at the High Performance Centre (HPC) in Port Harcourt since April 1 preparing for major competitions.
“Nigeria will participate in competitions at the global level because athletes have been in camp since April.
“I hear that people are skeptical of the country’s participation in international events due to the sports federation’s election which have yet to hold but it will not deter our attendance,” he said.
NAN reports that some of the major competitions coming soon after Nigeria’s Sports Federations elections are Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) U-20 Athletics Championships.
The competition is scheduled for June 12 to June 18 in Algiers, Algeria, while the Confederation of African Athletics (CAA) U-18 Athletics Championships will hold from June 27 to July 2 in Equatorial Guinea.
The 10th IAAF World U-18 which will have no fewer than 2,500 athletes from 159 countries is scheduled for July 12 to July 16 at the Moi International Sports Centre, Kasarani Stadium in Nairobi, Kenya.
Akawo said that the athletes in camp had been selected based on their standard, adding that their performances were used for the selection.
He also said that the AFN was still awaiting confirmation from the sponsors of the D.K. Olukoya U-18 and U-20 championships to ascertain the date for the events.
Nigeria did not participate in the 2015 edition of the IAAF U-18 championships due to visa issues. (NAN)