Mayor of Calabar To Revamp Grassroots Sporting Competitions
Plans are underway by the Calabar Municipal Government to rejuvenate the sports sector of the Council by reactivating grassroots sporting competitions in the Municipality.
The Mayor of Calabar, Apostle James Anam who made the disclosure said his administration intends to leverage the rich sporting antecedents of the Municipality in grooming future athletes for national and global limelight.
According to Anam" Calabar is globally celebrated as the birth place of football and cricket in Nigeria. History records that football was first played in Nigeria at Hope Waddle Training Institution in . Some decades ago Calabar contributed great numbers of talented soccer players to our national teams. Etim Esin, Friday Ekpo, John Okon Ene, Christopher Edem Mbora Mbora,Okoi Onen etc.
" And this feat was attributable to the vibrant grassroot soccer competitions like Chronicle Cup for secondary schools across the state and Sunday Sunday league introduced by Mr Football,Late Oyo Orok Oyo for the various wards in Calabar Municipality then.
These competitions provided a platform for budding talents to showcase their skills. We can't allow such rich sporting heritage to die. We have to reclaim our lost glory in track and field..Hence we are going to accord top priority to sports development in this administration"
He stated revamping the sport sector of the council will positively engage teeming youths and curtail vices emanating from idleness.
The Council Boss who spoke while exchanging views with sports journalists described the present Council administration as sports friendly.
In his words; The sport sector is of paramount important to us given the role of sports in uniting people from diverse backgrounds, moulding individual character, instilling discipline, checkmating juvenile delinquencies while offering offering multiple opportunities to eke out a living"
"Our immediate task is securing a slot for the Council's football team, Leopard FC to return to the national scene.
"We intend to work closely with the Cross River Football Association, school sports department in the Ministry of Education as well the Sports Commission to resuscitate grassroot sporting competition.
"We intend to concentrate on areas where we enjoy comparative advantage. We can't have good sports arenas in Calabar and yet lack behind in production athletes for National Sports Festivals and Youth Games. We are poised to checkmate the downward slide witness in our sporting sector"
