As medals in the ongoing Africa Games continue to come in a slow but steady speed, the federal government has appealed to the team Nigeria and officials to remain resolute and do the nation proud, Bestchoicesports.com.ng can report.

The minister, Youth and Sports, Sundare Dare made the appeal yesterday while conveying the federal government’s and Nigerians’ goodwill message to the team Nigeria in Rabat, Morocco.

Mr Dare who said that the government was not unaware of challenges facing the contingent, appealed to them to remain focused in their quest to do the nation proud.

“I am aware that our athletes are in Morocco for the Africa Games. I also know that we have excelled in badminton already. I know that we are on our way to winning the biggest laurel in table tennis, (Nigeria lost 3-2 to Egypt); taekwondo is still ongoing.

“We are aware of their challenges and appreciate their patriotism and service to our fatherland. My message to them is that this country stands behind the athletes and their officials. We are proud that they are our ambassadors there and we believe in them and their talents. We are rooting for them to succeed and do us proud.

“In Morocco, it is not just football, we have several other sporting activities, Nigerians are rooting for you and we want you to do us proud. I wish them the very best of luck as they compete with other athletes from across the continent and I believe they will do us proud,” he said.

The Honourable Minister who made the appeal while inspecting the MKO Abiola Stadium on Friday, said that the stadium remains a viable source of revenue to the government, hence the need to put it in proper shape.

“We see international stadia all over the world, we see how different companies are advertising them and in them over time. A lot of revenue comes from there. So we are looking at alternative source of revenue and to do this, we have to think outside the box to get there.

“Beyond what we get from our budget, sports can also generate some level of revenue. But the most important thing is that we want to generate interest into the world class facility and once we do that, it will serve as a magnet and will attract other revenues basses.”