Navy Boss Urges Government to Do More for Sports
The Flag Officer Commanding (FOC) Western Naval Command of the Nigerian Navy (NN), Rear Admiral Jonathan Ango, has urged the Federal Government to do more to develop sports.
Ango said this at a sailing competition at the Nigerian Navy sailing club held at its barracks in Ojo, Lagos to mark the NN's 59th anniversary.
The race started from the naval base, Apapa to sailing club in Ojo where some children, youths and naval officers participated in the sailing competition.
He said, "Sport is a force multiplier when it comes to the employment of the youths. We have a lot of unemployed youths who can channel their energy towards sports.
"Sailing is one of them and there are numerous sporting activities they can get involved in.
"Today is a milestone for us as naval officers; sailing is part of our profession, tradition and culture, so we are all happy to be here to witness the sailing competition."
Also speaking, the Commanding Officer of the Sailing Club, Civilian Commodore Tunde Daramola urged corporate organisations both local and international, to sponsor private financial support the development of sports in the country.
He said, "This is one of the most challenges races. During the race, the wind was not in our favour. We lost two boats and booms.
"And that is the kind of races we want for our sailors to prepare them to compete internationally. We haven't really been able to achieve our purpose because we need sponsorship from international, government and corporate bodies.
"Water sports gathers more than 40 medals in Olympics or international meets but football is only one. Yet, a lot of people concentrated on football.
There is nowhere in this country that there is no body of water where can train our swimmers but we don't make use of our resources."
We are looking forward to the new development and we implore President Muhammadu Buhari not to employ a minister of Sports that will become the minister of football."
The sponsor of the race, Mr. Francis Olo said, "We are happy with the turnout and this not the first time we are hosting this event. It's an annual event for us.
"The motivation for sponsoring the race is to empower the youths. If you look at the children sailing, they are the ones that can represent Nigeria even in the Olympics in the future. Kids from different parts of Lagos will have the opportunity to have a glimpse of the Barclays English Premier League Trophy today at the City of David football pitch and the Lagos preparatory School, Ikoyi.
The prestigious English Premier League trophy makes a return to Nigeria on Friday. It will be an opportunity for some lucky fans of the English Premier League to catch a glimpse of the trophy won by Chelsea Football Club in May.
With the tour, the fans will get up close and personal with the Premier League as the Schools Tour opens its doors in Lagos.
The free family-friendly interactive experience is in Lagos for the second time in four years after its maiden visit in 2011. The Trophy will be in Lagos for only two days before continuing on a busy schedule.
The Tour gives supporters the chance to learn about the trophy and it stands at three foot five inches tall and twenty four inches wide. The total weight of the trophy is four stone. The base of the trophy accounts for two and a half stone alone.
The trophy was cast by Asprey and Garrard, the Crown Jewellers, the main body of the trophy is made from solid sterling silver. The crown is cast from 24 carat silver gilt, to a depth of half a millimetre.
The base of the trophy is made from Malacite, a semi-previous stone found in Africa. The green colour of the opaque stone represents the field of play.
The design of the trophy is based on the theme of ‘The Three Lions of English Football’. Two of the lions can be found above the handles on either side of the trophy. When the captain of the title winning team raises the trophy (and its gold crown) above his head at the end of the season, he becomes the third lion.’
EPL is the biggest continuous annual global sporting event in the world, with the global audience growing each year - every match-day is broadcast to more than 580million households in over 200 countries.