By Amaechi Agbo

Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN has promised that the federation I doing everything within its reach to ensure that Nigeria athletes perform better than they did in the last year when this year’s World Athletics Championship commences later in the year.President, AFN, Ibrahim Gusau disclosed this in an interview adding that the federation will soon open camp in Port Harcourt, the Rivers State capital for the athletes to start preparation against continental and global championship.The president who said that the calendar of the year had kicked off with Junior and Senior Open Championships in Ilorin, Kwara state capital, said that the Development Centre in Port Harcourt is a world-class training facilities that would also be used to groom athletes for the 2020 Summer Olympic Games to be held in Tokyo, Japan and called on corporate bodies to make use of tax holiday granted by the federal government to organisations and companies sponsoring sports in the country to spread their reach and horizon in their business.“We have kicked off this year with two sets of events in Ilorin, Kwara State – the Junior and the Elite events. The Junior is an open championship so that we will able to select athletes that will represent the country in both Under 13 and 18 categories in Cote D’voire in the African Junior Championship. Towards the end of the event we will have the elite category where we gather the elite. “By and large, the calendar is full, don’t forget that this year there is World Championship in Doha at the elite category. We all saw our performance at the London World Athletics Championship. We expect to do better this year both within and outside the country. We want to make sure that the athletes are in top form. “This year, we want a situation whereby after selecting the athletes that will represent Nigeria, we want to move them to camp at the Development Centre in port Harcourt. Sports have turned scientific and we want them where they will have proper complete sports management from their diet, training, observation, etc. We have this at the Development Centre in Port Harcourt with professors in sports and nutritionists to make sure that the athletes are well taking care of and conditioned very well to perform to their best. “It is about discovering and harnessing. This is the major problem for sports in Nigeria. I think the government has done its best because we are competing from resources that are not enough. Government has done enough by creating tax holiday and rebirth for companies that spend on sports. When companies spend in sports via sponsorship, they are not only saving but also advertising their brands. This is killing two birds with one stone. “Sports is expensive because after discovering athletes, we need to camp them and train them for national and global competitions and this is where the input of the private firms are need financially. They can come in and sponsor an individual athlete or the team. We have the relay team, the 4X1, 4X4 and single events. If a company decides to adopt an athlete, it will help cushion the pressure on the federation. “This is not a salary paying job. With all humility I appreciate the board for their contribution in what we have done so far. They are instrumental to our successes so far but this is just the beginning. There are so much that we can take. Therefore, I am calling on companies and cooperate bodies to do the CSR (Cooperate Social Responsibility) to invest in sports. Employment in sports is a major one for us. The young athletes have energy to expend and putting them in sports means expending them in the right avenue. “National Sports Festival athletes are not in camp yet. Don’t forget that sports festival is not AFN only events. We have done some good discoveries and records were shatter. This is the first time in one event that five records were shattered in 2018 festival. We are doing Junior Open championship and Elite Championship in Ilorin and we expect the athletes to come there and showcase their talents for the Africa Games.We are prepared; we have some athletes that are ready. But as I said, we have a platform for anyone that could spring surprises,” the president concluded