By Uzor Odigbo
No fewer than Eleven Local Government Area Councils in Gombe State with over 2000 Athletes will participate in the U-15 AthIetics Open Trials for the forthcoming National Youth Games in Delta State.
The trials which planned by the Gombe Athletics Association (GAA), will start August 17-18th at the Pantami Stadium and would feature the following events, 100/200m, 400m, Long jump and High jump, etc, for all boys and girls.
Entries for the competition will end on or before August 16th with each participating AthIete to provide his or her birth certificate as pre-selection requirements for participation.
According to the technical Adviser to Gombe State AthIetics boss, Prince Simon Ayuba, the 2-day AthIetics trial Competitions will bring together for the first time all Youth AthIetes from 11 LGAs to be selected for the National Youth Games.
Ayuba assures that the trials would be bigger than the Inter-Primary Schools AthIetics Championship which only featured one local government area held in July, 2023 on the same venue.
“This is going to be bigger and better, thanks to the GAA Chairman Hon. Ahmed Shuaibu Gara Gombe who in his magnanimity had continued to sponsor these Championships.
Prince Ayuba however pleaded with companies, philanthropists, NGOs to assist to discover talents in the State through Sponsorship of Competitions and endorsement of Athletes.
The GAA Chairman had earlier promised to do all in his capacity to assist in talents hunt in Gombe to provide future means of livelihood to talented school kids, pull indigent children and families off the streets through sports.
“Gombe must not lag behind in sports, States like Delta, Edo, Lagos, Imo, Bayelsa etc are today harvesting talents they developed years back in AthIetics, football, gymnastics, etc. Why can’t we emulate them and develope ours instead of poaching already made talents?
Gombe State and the entire North East Zone can do it and I have started and no going back” , said Gara Gombe
