Sports Ministry partners Yucateco on grassroots boxing
The Federal Ministry of Sports Development is to collaborate with YUCATECO Boxing Promotion to develop grassroots boxing in the country.
The Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, declared when the organisation paid him a courtesy visit in Abuja.
He disclosed that the future of sports development starts from the grassroots, where talents are discovered and nurtured.
“No country makes progress in sports without starting from the grassroots. To take sporting activities to the grassroots is one of the ministry’s goals,” the minister stressed.
He commended the YUCATECO Boxing Promotion for pioneering the Grassroots Boxing League to nurture young talents and allow them to compete with other nations, adding that it is also an incentive to keep them off the street. Senator Owan Enoh noted that Nigeria has had its glorious days in boxing and averred that if properly handled, it has the potential of winning gold at a global level. He urged them not to limit their trajectory but to upscale to the national level by arranging a national boxing tournament to create a transition pathway for the discovered talents to the elite level.
“I need to encourage you to step up, not that I want you to get out of grassroots but also need you to play at the national level probably, by way of a national championship tournament that would pave the way for the discovered talents to transit to elite sports,” Enoh advised.
Speaking further, he challenged other well-meaning Nigerians to do the same in other areas of sporting activities, as this will go a long way to alleviate poverty and create jobs in line with President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s Renewed Hope Agenda.
The President and Chief Executive Officer of YUCATECO Limited and the convener of the Boxing Tournament, Mr Omole Imadu Yakubu, revealed that it has always been his passion to contribute to the growth of young talents through sports in the country. According to him, the development of sports in the country and engaging the youths is the responsibility of everyone and should not be left to the government alone.
