The sixth edition of the National Youth Games (NYG) will begin in Ilorin, Kwara state on Wednesday, October 13, 2021.
Up to 37 sports will be competed for at the games which will hold at the University of Ilorin.
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, alongside the Permanent Secretary, Alhaji Isma’il Abubakar, are expected at the opening ceremony of the event.
Over 5000 participants including athletes, coaches and technical officials as well as other stakeholders will be part of the weeklong competition.
Ahead of the games, the Minister of Youth and Sports Development Sunday Dare said the NYG is one of the most important programmes in his Ministry because of the opportunities to identify raw talents at an early age and provide proper guidance for them.
Corroborating the Minister, the Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Sports Ministry, Dr. Bode Durotoye, gave the example of Odunayo Adekuoroye, one of Nigeria’s elite wrestlers who was discovered at an earlier edition of the games.
“We have many examples but let me just use a prominent one of the wrestler Odunayo Adekuoroye. She was discovered at an earlier edition of the national youth games and see how her profile has risen since then.
“We have some young talents that were here a few years ago who have now represented Nigeria in International competitions. We are looking forward to discovering more of such talents in Ilorin this week,” Durotoye said.
