Capacity Building: Sports Practitioners In Anambra Central Trained, Certified
By Joseph Egbeocha|Ichie Times
Capacity building workshop for sports instructors, coaches, officers and administrators have commenced in Amawbia, Awka South Local Government Headquarters, where practitioners in Anambra Central were trained and certified.
In his address at the event with the theme, “Roles of sports practitioners in building champions on and off the field”, the Anambra State Commissioner for Youth Development and Sports, Patrick Agha Mba, said the workshop marks another significant milestone in the ongoing efforts of the state government under Governor Chukwuma Soludo to reposition sports as a strategic instrument for youth empowerment, employment generation, talent discovery, grassroots development and wealth creation in line with the People’s Manifesto and the Solution 2.0 Agenda.
The Sports Commissioner, however, noted that building a vibrant, competitive and sustainable sports ecosystem begins with the people who drive sports development at the grassroots, adding that the state cannot discover and nurture champions, protect young athletes, or build a strong sports economy without competent, properly trained, professionally guided and accountable sports practitioners, reason the ministry embarked on the statewide data capturing, registration, retraining and certification of sports practitioners across the state.
“Our objective is very simple: to ensure that every sports practitioner working within the Anambra sports ecosystem is equipped to perform his or her responsibilities effectively, professionally and responsibly.”
To discover champions, develop sustainable talents, protect athletes and build a thriving sports economy, the Commissioner called for investment in people who drive sports, and tasked the participants on active participation in the training sessions and making practical use of the knowledge and skills acquired.
Speaking after they were retrained and certified, the participants, including the Anambra State scrabble coach and athlete, Bethel Odionye, Awka South Local Government Sports Desk Officer, Eunice Egwuagu, and a volleyball coach in Ukpo, Livinus Okuani, described the exercise as first of its kind in the state, and one that will aid grassroots sports development in Anambra.
Anambra State Commissioner for Information and Value Reformation, Dr Law Mefor, Chairman, Anambra State Universal Basic Education Board, ASUBEB, Justina Anyadiegwu, among others attended the event that featured paper presentations on “Effective sports management and grassroots development” by Dr Iyke Nwokedi, “Health, safety, nutrition and athletes’ welfare” by Anthonia Uwa, “Sports as a career: The numerous opportunities, coaching codes of conduct” by Oliver Ndigwe, and “Sports laws and compliance” by Ugonwaeze Agugo.
