BREAKING: SWAN begs Aiyedatiwa to improve Ondo sporting facilities

The Ondo State chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria has called on the state government to urgently intervene in the deplorable condition of sporting facilities in the state.

The Chairman of the association, Segun Giwa, in a statement, on Monday, said there was a need for the government, as a matter of urgency, to attend to issues causing continuous delay in the upgrading of the state Sports Complex, Akure.

Giwa said there have been recent complaints of lack of funds and attention for other sports like basketball, volleyball, hockey and handball, among others.

He said, “Also, the state-owned football team Sunshine Stars now play all their matches in the Nigeria Premier Football League, away from their original home ground in Akure Stadium thus plunging the club into relegation scares. The Sunshine Stars’ journey within the second week of December had been very rough, travelling around the country in a spate of seven days with a rickety bus.

“They played in Ikenne, Ogun State, penultimate Saturday, back to Akure on Sunday and hit the road again on Monday to honour their rescheduled match day 13 against Enyimba International in Aba. They journeyed back to Akure on Thursday and arrived in Minna on Saturday afternoon to face a much improved Niger Tornadoes, the following day.

“In the same vein, the National Sports Festival beckons yet there is no artificial track, good indoor sports hall or healthy swimming pool to train athletes from the state.”

As a critical sports stakeholder in the state, the SWAN appealed to Governor Lucky Aiyedatiwa, “as a matter of urgency, to declare a state of emergency on government sporting facilities in the state for a quick turnaround of results.”