June 30, (THEWILL) – The inaugural edition of the Abuja International Marathon is scheduled for December 17, 2022, according to the event’s organisers.
The Abuja City Marathon will begin with 60 elite runners from all over the world, according to Femi Abegunde, the project coordinator, who spoke at a news conference in Abuja to unveil their plans. He revealed that local runners will compete alongside foreign athletes for the $80,000 (N48,800,000 at the secondary market exchange rate of N610 to 1$) award.
He stated: “The 42-kilometre race will begin from the City Gate through the interesting parts of the FCT and end at the Eagles Square, with 60 runners (local and foreign), as the winner will go home with $80,000. The desire to create an Abuja international Marathon is to showcase the City, attract investors, boost tourism and the economy like it is done in other world commercial cities like London and New York.
“Our desire is to create a Marathon that can compete with the best anywhere in the world. Abuja is like a beautiful shop, which is closed. This could have even been on since 2021 if not for the Pandemic that ravaged the world.”
Olukayode Thomas, the project Media Head, said that Nigeria and the FCT will gain more from the programme through the tourists that will swarm the nation. He noted that the New York Marathon alone brought in more than $400 million to the economy even though he claimed that the prize money might not exceed $1 million.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
