By; JACOB ONJEWU DICKSON
Among North West states that participated at the 7th edition of the National Youth Games (NYG), Team Kaduna blazed the trail, finishing tops and claiming the 14th position out of 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) that participated at the games which ended in Asaba, the Delta State capital on Saturday.
Team Kaduna got a total of three gold medals, four silver and ten bronze.
Meanwhile, hosts Delta again, emerged tops of the overall medals table, winning 51 gold, 34 silver and 31 bronze.
Lagos trailed to second spot with 21 gold, 19 silver and 21 bronze medals.
Third spot was claimed by Team Edo with 21 gold, 15 silver and 17 bronze medals.
Speaking at the closing ceremony, Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Eno said that the National Youth
Games has been meeting the expectations for its creation.
“Over the years, it has become a veritable ground for harvesting
a large pool of talents that God has blessed Nigeria with. Many
athletes discovered at the games have gone ahead to win
laurels for the country at the elite level and by so doing. creating a career path for themselves in sports. This is the vision
of the Games,” he said.
He said that the 7th Edition of the National Youth Games aptly
tagged “Asaba 2023”. has been 10 days of intense and
healthy competitions amongst the young talents that abound
within Nigeria’s shores.
“Beyond marking the beginning of the making of our future
champions and leaders, the impacts of the games have been
far-reaching: new friends have been made across the aisle,
economic activities within and around the city of Asaba and
Nigeria at large, have been boosted, the sales of sports
equipment and other related sports kits increased, several artisans were engaged; the hospitality and tourism sector also
witnessed increased patronage within the period.
“While we await the official economic data from the
National Bureau of Statistics, I am sure that thousands of direct
and indirect jobs have been created in the sports value chain.
No doubt, the impact of the Games on the economy of Delta
State is enormous,” he said.
