Gov. Olusegun Mimiko of Ondo State on Friday in Akure urged sports federations and schools to make good use of facilities in the state to discover and groom talents for competitions.
Mimiko made the call at the opening of the Africa Swimming Confederation (CANA) Zone II Junior Swimming Championships.
Mimiko, represented by the Deputy Governor, Alhaji Ali Olanusi, said his administration accorded sports development priority attention, not just for winning laurels, but to build the athletes’ character and leadership qualities.
“Sports are not just a tool to win laurels, but a top platform for character and leadership development.
“We will continue to upgrade our existing sports facilities to world-class standard and construct new ones for development in Nigeria and the continent in general.
“I therefore call on the Nigeria Swimming Federation (NSF) and other sports federations, corporate organisations and schools to utilise our facilities, especially where we have comparative advantage, to discover talents.
Earlier, the CANA President, Sam Ramsamy, said he was certain that the championships at Akure would not only identify talents but would also inspire the participants to pursue it as a career.
“This championships will inspire participants to emulate the likes of Cameroon’s Van der Burg, Chad’s Les Clos and Oussama Mellouli, all of whom brought glory to Africa at the London 2012 Olympics,’’ the CANA president said.
Represented by NSF President, Babatunde Fatayi-Williams, Ramsamy said the confederation would continue to design programmes for talent discovery and grooming.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the countries present at the championships are the Republic of Benin, Ghana, Togo, Mali, Senegal and hosts, Nigeria.
The event, which started on Nov. 7 and will end on Nov. 12, is holding at the new Olympic-sized swimming pool commissioned by Mimiko in February 2011, some 33 years after the project commenced. (NAN)