President, ArmWrestling Federation of Nigeria (NAWF) Samuel Olatunji Jackson, has called for the recognition of his federation by the Ministry of Sports Development.
Jackson stated this while speaking with Tribune Sports in Abuja recently.
Jackson expressed optimism that with the new Minister of Sports Development Senator John Enoh, in the saddle, the NAWF will be duly recognised and the administrative bottleneck hindering its recognition will be set aside.
He said while the NAWF has met most of the criteria for arm wrestling to be recognised as a sport in Nigeria, the federation has liaised with the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) for guidance on what is needed to be done to be recognised.
“We have been on this for the past seven to 10 years. You understand the bottleneck that is associated with the ministry’s work. We have been able to meet most of the criteria for arm wrestling to be recognised as a sport in Nigeria. We let them know that arm wrestling must be part of the contingent to the All-Africa Games. We are now in 27 states across Nigeria. We are in the documentation process for us to be given the necessary recognition.
“The Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) is our partner. We have been with them for more than five years. They have been guiding us telling us what we need to do. Hopefully, with the new minister, the bottleneck will be taking off and the documentation will be done right,” Jackson told Tribune Sports.
On the federation’s upcoming programs, Jackson, who is also the Global Vice President, World Arm-wrestling Federation said, “We had a plan called academic arm wrestling meaning we are going to secondary schools and universities. Fortunately, arm wrestling is part of the World Universities Games. Two of my arm wrestlers are going to Saudi Arabia next month for the World Combat Games. Secondary school is our focal point where we want to catch them young and make them champions at an early age.”
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