The ongoing Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) has thrown up a plethora of talented youngsters, exciting Olympic medallists, Mary Onyali, Blessing Oborodudu, and other top stars. The maiden NDSF, sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), will end tomorrow in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, after eight days of intense competition among the nine NDDC states.
As of yesterday evening, Team Delta and Bayelsa were neck-to-neck at the top of the medals table, with Delta leading with 30 gold medals and Bayelsa close behind with 28 gold. Officials of Bayelsa have expressed confidence in their athletes’ chances of harvesting more medals from wrestling and weightlifting events this evening to overtake Delta on the table.
The outcome of the scouting exercise at the Games, which is the first regional sports festival in the country, is a direct result of the engagement of over 20 coaches, retired elite athletes, and scouts, who have been on the ground to harvest potential stars. Francis Sule, a former Nigeria table tennis captain and now a grassroots coach, believes that he has spotted promising talents at the festival.
“I am very impressed with what I have seen on the ground so far. Numerous talents abound in the Niger Delta Region, and I can confidently show you the athletes that will replace Funke Oshinaike, Aruna Quadri, and Bose Kaffo in this festival,” Sule said.
Sule, who is a member of the Scouting and Mentorship committee of the Niger Delta Sports Festival, further explained that he was overjoyed with the standard of play from the young athletes. “I have selected young boys and girls who met the criteria for subsequent nurturing and developmental programmes,” he said.
For Onyali, one of the festival’s Celebrity Sports Personalities, there is cause for celebration “because what we’ve clamored for over the years is finally being done by the NDDC. I want to thank them for this innovation, thank you NDSF for giving us a platform to identify the country’s future athletes. I can beat my chest and say that future athletes have been discovered here and I’m excited.”
Also sharing his experience at the festival is one of the scouts, Paul Omamomo, who is a FIFA-licensed football scout. He said: “We’re faced with the daunting task of picking the very best from the NDSF because of the unbelievable talents. From what Victor Ikpeba and I, as well as the other football scouts, have seen here, I can confidently say that we’ve found the new Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh, and many more.”
Olympian and United States-based Gabriel Opuana told social media influencer, Chief Suo, that he has identified a shotput thrower but declined to name her. “There is a girl that has shown very good potential and I’ll be speaking with her after her event. Now is not the right time to let her know she is good as it may distract her, but I’ll speak to her after their final throw,” Opuana said in a Facebook live post.
Olympics silver medalist in wrestling, Blessing Oborududu, who is in Uyo as one of the Games’ Ambassadors and doubles as a scout, has no doubt in her mind that replacements for her and many others have been discovered at the NDSF. “What gladdens my heart is that this competition has thrown up young athletes who will replace me and the others. I want to thank the Niger Delta Development Commission for doing this for the kids of this region.”