By Seun Adams
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr. Sunday Akin Dare is set to declare open the National Athletics Trial and Relay Invitational Tournament scheduled to hold in Lagos, today (Thursday 17th).
Preparatory to the event, the atmosphere around the Yabatech Sports Complex is wearing a new look ahead of the opening ceremony and the 2021 National Championships and Invitational Relays which is expected to be declared open by the Minister today (Thursday), June 17.
Countries that are expected to participate in the trials are; Cote D’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Senegal, Zambia, Cameroon and host country, Nigeria.
The Director of Press and Public Relations in the Ministry, Mr. Mohammed Manga, confirmed that the trials, which will be used to select Nigeria’s contingent to the delayed Games of the XXXII Olympics in Tokyo which is scheduled to hold from July 23 to August 8, 2021, will see about 10 to 11 events taking place on the opening day.
The National Championships is the flagship event of the AFN where the nation’s top athletes converge to compete for honours and qualifications for major Championships and Games.