Calabar – The Cross River Commissioner for Sports and Cinematography, Mr Offu Aya, says the state expects good performances from its athletes at the National Sports Festival (NSF), holding in Edo.
Aya stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Calabar.
NAN reports that the state is represented at the festival by a contingent of 70 athletes, coaches and officials and they are participating in 12 events.
The events include athletics, boxing, swimming, tennis, table tennis, wrestling, karate, power lifting, weightlifting, scrabble, chess and kick-boxing.
“The state government and indeed, the entire residents of the state, expect good performances from the contingent that will translate into medals for the state.
“There is no promise that is greater than the platform already provided for the athletes to showcase their talents and skills to the world.
“However, we know that some will need to upgrade their skills after the event, while others may need assistance and encouragement in form of scholarship, all of which we are very disposed to oblige,” Aya said.
He added that being in the era of COVID-19, all the athletes from the state were made to undergo relevant tests and were vaccinated before they left for the festival.
NAN reports that after being hit with series of postponements in the past months, the 20th edition of NSF eventually kicked-off on April 4.
