A New Date For NSF To Be Announced After COVID-19

A New Date For NSF To Be Announced After COVID-19

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By Our Correspondent

A new date for the National Sports Festival, NSF will be announced in due course, the minister of youth and sports development, Sunday Dare has said.

Mr Dare who disclosed this in a chat with newsmen, revealed that only the Federal Government would decide whether to hold the National Sports Festival this year or move it to a date in 2021.

The 20th edition of the NSF scheduled to hold from March 22 to April 1st, 2020 was later postponed indefinitely due to the increasing spread of the coronavirus.

The minister noted that the clarification on a new date became necessary due to numerous enquiries on the fate of the festival following the recent happenings in the sports world.

The growing number of Coronavirus victims across the world has led to the postponement of the Japan 2020 Olympic Games and the Paralympics till 2021 by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) as well as other global sporting activities such as FIFA 2022 World Cup qualifiers, AFCON 2021 qualifiers as well as suspension of major European leagues.

Speaking through his Special Adviser (Media), John Joshua Akanji, the minister told The Guardian at the weekend that the ministry was following the turn of events and would make the right decision when the time comes.

The National Sports Festival, which was supposed to begin last weekend in Benin, Edo State, was postponed on orders from the Presidency.

Akanji revealed that as a way of helping the fight against the deadly COVID-19, the ministry has provided 57 suites and the health facilities at the MKO Abiola National Stadium, Abuja for use as an isolation centre for victims of the virus.

Meanwhile, Dare has assured Nigerians that the sports ministry has been monitoring the programmes of its athletes despite the uncertainty surrounding the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.

The Minister insisted Nigeria would stick to 11 sports at the Olympics as earlier decided.

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