A total of 22 athletes and officials left Nigeria, yesterday, for Ghana to participate in the Africa Senior Zone II Athletics Championships, which begins tomorrow.
The championships will allow athletes to seek qualifications for the Paris 2024 Olympics. It will run till June 5.
Speaking ahead of the competition, Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) President, Tonobok Okowa, assured that the federation would helpathletes qualify for the Paris Olympic Games by providing competitions within and outside the country.
Okowa, who is also the president of the Africa Zone II Athletics Confederation, said the championship in Ghana is another window available for more Nigerians to make the mark for the Games.
He called on the business community and kind-hearted individuals to rally aroundthe federation by making funds available for sports development in Nigeria.
“Sports development in a country like Nigeria cannot be left to an individual except with the involvement of corporate organisations. Therefore, I’m calling on all sports-loving Nigerians to assist the AFN in making funds available through their foundations for sports development in the country.
“We have many talented sportsmen and women that require help to develop their talents; such talents would further provide for their families and Nigeria would have fewer problems to deal with,” he stated.
![[FILE] Nigerian athletes during a track event. The AIU is demanding answers from the AFN over age discrepancies in four Nigerian athletes set to compete in the World U20 Championships.](https://guardian.ng/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/Nigeria-Relay-Team-1024x570-1.jpg)
