I’ll make archery more popular in Oyo — Alaba

•as Oyo inaugurates sports associations

Newly-inaugurated Chairman of the Oyo State Archery Association, Mr Seyi Alaba, has promised to make the game more popular during his time.

Alaba stated this on Monday during the inauguration of the executive of sports associations in Oyo State, held at the State Secretariat, Ibadan.

He emphasised the importance of nurturing young talents, organising training programmes, and hosting competitions so as to make archery more popular in Oyo State.

“By the grace of God, I will try my best and leverage on my past experience and involvement in other sporting activities to make archery a popular sport in the state.

“Also, as we are planning for the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Ogun State, we will do our very best to make sure that we have a very good representation and that the athletes who will compete for Oyo State not just represent the state only, but return home with several medals to cap our efforts and I pray God will help us to achieve all our targets,” Alaba who is also the Captain of Ibadan Golf Club said.

In her remarks, Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Hon. Wasilat Adegoke, urged the new chairman of sports associations to be up and doing in their respective associations.

“As government, we cannot do it alone, we still need your support even though some of you have been doing excellently well towards sports development in the state.

“We seek more support and we are ready to do whatever you want as an association. In fact, we cannot afford to fail at the next National Sports Festival in Ogun State,” she said.

Also, Speaking, Oyo State Federation Secretary, Mr Kehinde Ojelowo said the aim of creating the association is to take a continuous pragmatic approach through sporting affective programme as required in the tenets of physical, social, economical psychological and physiological parlance.

“To create and restore the level of Sports performance in all the nooks and crannies of Oyo State through integral grassroot programmes in order to enhance the level of identifying and keeping the Sports talents that abound within,” he said.

Other associations inaugurated include, boxing, weightlifting, handball, athletics, judo, abula, table tennis, chess, kickboxing, shooting, aquatic, lawn tennis, wrestling, volleyball, among others.