The Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has announced plans to utilize technology in verifying the age of athletes participating in the upcoming National Youth Games (NYG) scheduled to be held in Delta state in September.
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During the 7th NYG joint technical committee meeting in Asaba, the permanent secretary of the Ministry, Ismaila Abuibakar, revealed that the Ministry will be collaborating with the National Identity Management Commission (NIMC) to deploy a biometric system for age verification of participating athletes.
Emphasizing the importance of adhering to the age requirements, Abubakar urged states to present athletes within the age bracket of 15 for the under-15 games. He further stated that any athlete who has not registered with the National Identity Management Commission would not be eligible to participate in the games.
“To ensure that states do not bring athletes above the age of 15, we are going to utilize technology and establish an institutional framework to detect age cheaters,” he asserted.
The host and Chairman of Delta State Sports Commission, Chief Tonobok Okowa, assured the joint committee that the state is fully prepared to host the youth games with adequate facilities available. He also revealed that an MOU was signed between the ministry and Delta state government to host the next four editions of the youth games.
Participating in the 7th National Youth Games Joint Technical Committee Meeting were General Managers of Sports Commissions, Secretaries of Sports Federations, and State Directors of Sports.
During the meeting, discussions were held, and recommendations were made concerning sports facilities, athletes’ villages, unified screening processes, security, and welfare of participating athletes. Additionally, the committee inspected the facilities and hostel accommodations for the athletes during their visit.
 scheduled to be held in Delta state in September.){kind=link}