Enugu Govt Restates Commitment to Grassroots Sports Development 

Gideon Arinze in Enugu 

The Enugu State Government has said that it remains committed to the development of Grassroots Sports as it remains a veritable tool for economic empowerment and social development.

This is even as the government has announced that it will partner with China Communications Construction Company, (CCCC) to host the 2024 Under-15 youth tournament for athletes across the 17 local government councils in the state. 

Addressing newsmen yesterday, ahead of the tournament, which is slated for 20- 25th August 2024, Commissioner for Youths and Sports, Lloyd Ekweremadu, said that sports development remains one of the major benchmarks of the administration of Governor Peter Mbah. 

He explained that the governor recently signed the Enugu State Sports Development Fund into law which allows for private sector participation in sports development in the state. 

“The tournament will feature a total of 18 sports, including football, volleyball, Basketball, Boxing, Athletics, Cycling, and Wrestling among other games,” he said. “The local government with the most medals across the sports will receive N1million while the second and third highest will receive N500,000 and N300,000 respectively, “.

He further explained that a total of forty athletes were drawn from each of the local government areas in the state, adding that local governments were allowed to make their own selection from school and community sports competitions.

“We will partner with secondary schools to provide accommodation for the athletes, we are also working with the police to ensure that the accommodation environment and competition venues, including the Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, are secured because their security is important for us,” he said.