The President of Nigeria Weightlifting Federation, Dr Ibrahim Abdul revealed that plans are underway for the country to attend the 2023 African Youth and Junior Weightlifting Championship in Egypt.
The 2023 Africa Youth and Junior Championships is scheduled for 24th October to 1st November in Cairo, Egypt.
Dr Abdul told www.aclsports.com that younger lifters discovered at the 7th National Youth Games in Delta State will be given the necessary exposure to become elite athletes in no time.
Abdul, however, noted that the paucity of funds might truncate the trip due to the focus of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
He said, “The Nigeria Weightlifting Federation is scheduled to attend the Youth and Junior Championship in Egypt by 28th October by the special grace of God and if we get everything right, the NWF will definitely attend.
“But again it is mostly in the issue of finance because the Federation’s major priority is to qualify for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. We will look at the funds available and see how we can expose these young athletes”.
The astute sports administrator commended the promising young weightlifters who made their states proud at the 2023 National Youth Games.
Abdul said the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation will continue to focus on grassroots development and create an enabling environment for the athletes to thrive.
He said, “I am very impressed with the performance of the young lifters at the recently concluded National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta state. It is a good development for the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation as we identified a couple of athletes that we can develop; it has always been about grassroots development for this current board.
“The NWF wants to always replace ageing athletes at every point in time in order not to create a vacuum.”
