The 6th edition of Kaduna State Sports Festival, which will be organised for the first time in 10 years, did not commence on Monday as earlier planed because of funding issues.
The Commissioner for Sports Development, Professor Kabir Mato, who made this known, said that the sports festival will now hold on March 2 and over 5, 000 athletes and officials will participate.
According to him, the ministry is perfecting strategies to ensure the comfort of both athletes and officials councils throughout the event.
Professor Mato further said that the festival will identify talents from grassroots ‘’for an effective participation of Kaduna State at the National Sports Festival and other national competitions.’’
According to the Commissioner, the athletes will compete for laurels in 16 sporting events, including football, basket ball, volley ball, hand ball, table tennis, hockey and cycling.
The commissioner said that the one week fiesta which is expected to offer ‘’ a good platform for expressing and implementing the State’s sporting programmes at the grassroots levels, which is one of the cardinal principles of Governor Nasir El Rufai’s administration.’’