Former Edo State Sports Commissioner, Chris Okaeben has been named the Events Director of the 3rd IAAF Okpekpe Road Race, while Stella Nwala serves as the secretary of Secretariat.
Okaeben who was newly elected into the Edo state house of Assembly will also coordinate all the activities of the race in the state as well as interface between the state government and the organisers of the race.
The Director of Organisation, Zack Amodu stated that the Organising Committee intends to take the third edition to a higher level because the race has been accorded a bronze label recognition by IAAF.
Meanwhile, the organisers have also decided to move the secretariat of the Race from Benin to Auchi after a world press conference on May 12.
Amodu, however, advised all the coordinators of various departments of the race to intensify efforts to ensure that Edo State delivers a world class event.
Athletes who have not registered for the race have also been advised to pick free entry forms at various designated centres in Benin, Auchi and Okpekpe from May 5.
The Edo State will be breaking new grounds with the introduction of the game of Rugby into schools through the launch of International Rugby Board grassroots program tagged “Get Into Rugby”
The program will be launched on Thursday 06 November 2014 through a Seminar & Clinic at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium Media Center from 9am-4pm for School’s sports teacher/master/mistress of over 25 Schools drawn from both government and private schools respectively in Benin City.
According to the coordinator of the program Mr. Ntiense Williams, the Head Coach of Edo State Rugby Association, who also introduced the sport into Edo State some 8 years ago, “We will like to get Edo State fully integrated into the National & International Rugby scheme of things with the introduction of the Schools Rugby program tagged by the International Rugby Board as “Get Into Rugby” (GIR), and what we will popularly refer to as “Catch Them Young Sports Development Program.
This program is a genuine way of inculcating the ethos & rudiments of Rugby Football to our children at a very early age which will greatly help them to grow in the system, and become National & International players of repute to Edo State in the nearest future. Said Williams who is also popularly know as “Mr. Rugby” in Nigeria.
“initially when I was brought to Edo state, it was solely for producing a team, and winning the National Sports Festival which we have done creditably well with a historic record of 4 gold medals out of the available 6 gold medal, a feat which has not be broken to date, but we believe that we need to bring the game to the international standard which is why the introduction of the schools game is very paramount” Said Ntiense who is the only International Rugby Board Educator for Nigeria.
IRB – Get Into Rugby
“Get Into Rugby” (GIR) is an International Rugby Board program aimed at promoting and popularizing the beautiful game of Rugby around the world towards Rugby’s re-introduction into the Olympic Games of Rio 2016 as a medal winning event.
Early this year, the IRB in conjunction with the Nigeria Rugby Football Federation hosted an Educator & Coaching Seminar for the “Get Into Rugby” program in Lagos. At the end of the program, Edo State was one of the 8 States in the entire country selected for the Pilot Scheme of the program.
This program is very timely for us in Edo State, as we are now involved in genuine sports development to be able to identify talents to replace our aging ones who are fast wearing out.
We will also be grooming up genuine athletes for the Junior National Sports Festival & the Schools Sports Festival respectively, which Rugby will soon feature in and also preparing the grounds for the reintroduction of Rugby in the Bi-annual National Sports Festival after Calabar 2014 games.
We will like to call on well meaning Companies, Organizations, and individuals to come on board to sponsor this program through the donation of simple things like Rugby balls which is the basic requirement to introduce the game into a community. We are looking at attaching each school in the program to an interested individual sponsor or donor, especially people that have affinity with the school.
I am really excited with this program and I am looking forward to it kicking of with the launch Seminar & Clinic on Thursday at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium. I am very grateful to the Nigeria Association of Physical Health Education, Recreation, Sports & Dance Oredo Chapter led by the Chairman Mr. Okunyawe A.V. & Secretary Mr. Peter Okodu who have given the program a good platform to spring off from.
The Seminar & Clinic is expected to be declared open by the Edo State Honourable Commissioner for Youth, Sports & Social Mobilization Chris Okaeben.
After the successful hosting of the second 10km Okpekpe race, which will soon get IAAF Golden rating, Edo Football Association have become the first to recognize one its own and initiator of the programme, and a the Honorary Adviser to Comrade Governor Adams Oshiomhole on Sports, Mr Mike Itemuagbor. Itemuagbor, was given a gold plated plaque for his efforts so far, even as the FA say they expect more from their great son.
The Edo State Commissioner for Youth, Sports and Social Mobilisation, Hon Chris Okaeben has also spoken favourably of Edo Sports, the FA and plans to reposition the state away from the current manner where thuggery and other anti-sports activities which he said are the order of the day.
“We must be civil and take sports as entertainment not quarrel or fight every time we have a match at the Ogbe Stadium, there must be a winner and a loser or at worst a drawn game. We want to attract sponsorship and the current attitude will not help us”, Okaeben said at the closing ceremony of the Edo FA Cup, which was won 1-0 by Bendel Insurance over Dynamite Force FC also of Benin City.
At the occasion proper, few Edo indigenes who have contributed to sports development and football were awarded honorary plaques. Among them was the Sports Commissioner Hon Okaeben, Mr Mike Itemuagbor, an established sports marketing guru, for his outstanding role in Edo and Nigerian sports development, Secretary to the Edo State Government, Pro Julius Ihonvbere, and one time Green Eagles top striker, Emmanuel Obasuyi alias Shakara, who recently retired as Head Coach of Edo FA and Barr BE Onuwabhagbe as well and Coach Solomon Ogbeide.
Edo FA Chairman, High Chief Abel Ehigie, abley assisted by his vice, Frank Ilaboya, assured that Edo FA, will surely bring back the glory days of football through adequate partnership with government and the private sector. The highly entertaining Edo Fed Cup final was watched by a sizeable crowd with Governor Oshiomhole represented by state SSG, Prof Ihonvbere.
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