A total of 137 athletes and officials will represent Kwara State in seven team sports, in the Zonal Elimination towards 2021 National Youth Games for North Central states.
The Zonal Elimination will hold between September 3rd to 6th, in Ilorin.
Altogether, a total of 648 delegates from states of the North Central geo-political zone, which includes host Kwara, Benue, Nasarawa, Kogi, Niger, Plateau states and FCT will participate in the Zonal Elimination for team sports.
The Zonal Elimination is expected to feature football, cricket, basketball (3×3), beach volleyball, handball, hockey, volleyball and rugby.
Each team will be vying to pick the ticket to qualify to represent the North Central zone at the National Youth Games proper, scheduled to hold at the University of Ilorin from 10th to 19th October, 2021.
Kwara will field the highest contingent, 137, followed by Kogi (131), Nasarawa (107), FCT (98), Niger (90) and Benue (85).
The Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Sports Commission, Mallam Bolakale Mogaji thanked Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for approving the hosting and preparation of the state’s athletes for the Zonal Elimination.
He promised that the athletes will be good ambassadors of the state by competing well and qualifying in all the team sports presented towards the National Youth Games.
The Director General of the Kwara State Sports Commission, Dr. Steve Olarinoye said that the state will present athletes for football, basketball, cricket, beach volleyball, handball, volleyball and rugby.
He added that the athletes are already in closed camp, to put them in the right frame of mind for the competition.