Athletes praise ‘ wonderful Delta facilities’ as Sports Festival begins

IN the next 12 days, attention of sports- loving Nigerians will focus on Delta State, venue of the 21st National Sports Festival.

Already, Lagos, Niger, Imo, Gombe, Katsina, Sokoto and the Federal Capital Territory ( FCT) contingents have arrived in Asaba, signaling their readiness to fight for medals at the fiesta.

Apart from the early birds, who arrived yesterday, more states are expected to breeze in today ahead of tomorrow’s opening ceremony. The flag hoisting ceremony for Delta 2022 National Sports Festival will hold at 4.00 p. m. today ahead of the opening ceremony slated for Stephen Keshi Stadium. Majority of athletes, who arrived Asaba, yesterday, were thrilled by the quality of facilities provided by Governor Ifeanyi Okowa for the Games. One major area that caught attention of the athletes and their officials was the new tartan track installed at the Stephen Keshi Stadium.

In 2018, when Delta State hosted the African Senior Athletics Championship, athletes from across the continent said the tartan track hampered their performance.

To host the best ever National Sports Festival, Governor Okowa, who is the vice presidential candidate for the Peoples Democratic Party ( PDP) in the 2023 election, ordered that a new tartan track be installed for Nigerian athletes to showcase their talents.