By Hananeel Jackson

Chairman of the Bayelsa State Scrabble Association (BYSA), Mr. Daniel Alabrah says preparations toward a successful hosting of the First Governor Douye Diri National Scrabble Championship are in top gear.

The two-day tournament endorsed by the Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) and the Federal Ministry of Sports would hold at the Chief Harold Dappa-Biriye Conference Centre in Yenagoa on May 29 and 30.

Speaking to journalists in Yenagoa, Mr. Alabrah said the association has held series of consultation and meetings with NSF officials in order to have a hitch-free championship.

He said the tournament would be the first to be held nationally since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, adding that it has attracted a lot of interest from scrabble players in Europe and across the country.

“We are expecting close to 400 Nigerian scrabble players from Europe and across the country. This is the first national competition since the outbreak of the Coronavirus pandemic. So you can understand the interest it has generated.

“The aim of the competition is to re-awaken the essence of the game, which had been in the doldrums since COVID-19 broke out across the globe.

“We also want to make scrabble a top sport in Bayelsa State so as to intellectually capture the interest and minds of our youths. The performance of the state scrabble team at the recent National Sports Festival in Edo State was a clear indication that Bayelsa is a force to reckon with in Nigeria scrabble. So, we need to sustain the momentum,” Alabrah said.

He appealed for support for the championship from corporate organisations in the state, saying that it is part of their corporate social responsibility.

Alabrah, who is also the Chief Press Secretary to the state governor, noted that the tournament would enhance the development of scrabble in the state.

The former professional footballer stated that the association had begun a catch-them-young campaign in the state with a view to encouraging young Bayelsans to embrace scrabble as an intellectual game and to groom them to compete with their counterparts within and outside Nigeria.

He commended Governor Diri for encouraging and supporting the youths to embrace sports as well as the Commissioner for Youth and Sports Development, Mr Daniel Igali, and the Director of Sports in the state’s sports council, Sir Braveman Wodi, for their support for the championship.