Ratels Sports Development Foundation (RSDF) is making plans to reward exceptional athletes and schools at the upcoming FCT School Sports Festival scheduled for September 2023.
President of RSDF Barr. Paul Edeh who disclosed this while speaking during the final of the Dry Run version of the newly introduced school sports festival on Friday March 30, 2023, also announced that the Foundation will pay the school fees of students who came first to third positions in debate and all the sporting events.
Barr. Edeh said the school sports festival will not only trigger improvement of sporting activities but also development of sports facilities in all schools in FCT.
He said the vision of RSDF in initiating the festival in collaboration with the Federal Capital Administration (FCTA) was to ensure there is improvement in both sports activities and facilities in the various schools within the FCT, assuring the principals and participants that they are in for bigger surprises.
“I’m happy because for more than 40year I have continued to pray and aspire for this kind of opportunity to see young boys and girls in schools strive in sporting activities and non sporting competitions like spelling -B, quiz and debate.
He said, “The assurance I want to give to the principals and schools that are participating in the FCT School Sports Festival is that you are in for bigger surprises. Our vision and dream is that in the next five years this collaboration will ensure that there is improvement in both sports activities and facilities in the various schools in FCT.
“The winner of every edition will go home with huge cash prizes that will go directly towards improving the sports facilities in the various schools. For instance, the winner of the basketball event may go home with nothing less than a million naira which will be used to improve basketball facilities in that school, same with football, badminton, athletics, volleyball, handball and every sporting event.”
The five-day event featured sporting competitions such as high jump, football, track and field for male and female drawn from various private and public schools across Nigeria’s capital.
At the end, Government Secondary School (GSS) Karu emerged the overall winners.
The school won a total of 16 medals comprising 10 gold, five silver and one bronze to dust 15 other schools and emerged champions in the senior secondary schools category.
In the junior secondary schools category, JSS Gwarko reigned supreme, clinching four gold, four silver and one bronze to finish first on the medal table.
JSS Jabi were crowned champions of the boys football event after beating JSS Orozo 2-0 in the final, while GGSS Dutse defeated GSS karu 5-4 on penalties to claim the girls football event gold medal.