August 29, (THEWILL) – Bayelsa State athletes, on Wednesday, depart Yenagoa for Benin City, Edo State, for the zonal elimination of the 8th National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State.
Team Bayelsa, led by Director of Sports, Sir Braveman Wodi, arrived in Benin, the Edo State capital with about 242 people, including athletes, coaches and officials.
Bayelsa will compete in eight sports which include football, handball, volleyball, beach volleyball, hockey, basketball, abula and rugby.
The elimination for the team sports in the 8th National Youth Games will commence on the 28th of August through the 1st of September, 2024 with the games expected to kick off next month in Asaba, Delta State.
Sir Braveman Wodi remarked that the target for team Bayelsa is to qualify in all sports, stating that Bayelsa is prepared for zonal elimination.
Sir Wodi explained that team Bayelsa would compete in eight sports apart from cricket while Bayelsa competes in handball and rugby only the male, stressing that the reason for choosing the male team was to dwell on his area of strength.
With Bayelsa finishing second in the National Sports Festival, Sir Wodi believes that the contingent would give a good account of themselves in the 8th National Youth Games, describing the south-south as the home of sports in Nigeria.
He appreciated the sports-loving duo of Senator Douye Diri and his deputy senator, Lawrence Ewhrudjakpo, for their invaluable contributions to the development of sports.
The Odi-born sports administrator equally thanked the commissioner for Sports Development, Dr Daniel Igali, for perfecting the vision of the governor.
Amos Okioma is a Correspondent at THEWILL
