Edo State Sports Commission chairman, Barrister Godwin Dudu-Orumen has outlined strategies he believes would help the state not only host a successful National Sports Festival in 2020, but also end up as winners.
Orumen said the basic idea is to start planning immediately, with emphasis on sports development from the community level and development of infrastructure.
Sports247.ng learnt that the immediate project the state plans to put their tactics in place is to organise a mini-sports festival in August.
‘Dudu’ confirmed that Edo State plan to hold a sports festival in August, to discover and groom talents that abound in all nooks and crannies.
The acclaimed ‘Football Aficionado’ added: “We are looking to dominate sports once again at the sports festival.
“Talents that will be discovered will be monitored closely while a platform will be created for them to reach their peak.
“We are hosting the NSF in 2020 to win; by winning, we mean winning fairly and squarely through the talents that will be groomed and not through hired athletes to compete in the festival on behalf of the state.
“We are also working towards reclaiming the lost glory of the state in sports.
“We are working in such a way that half of Super Eagles players or players of the U20 and other national teams will be from Edo State.
“We want to be able to see that the state contributes most athletes for the national contingents.
“This was the case in the golden era of the state in sports and this we are hoping to re-enact in a not distant time.
“If you go round the state now, a lot is being done to either upgrade or build sports facilities across the 18 Local Government Areas.
“While Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is being upgraded to standard, the government is also building mini stadium in all the council areas.”
