Nigeria’s Minister of Youths and Sports Development, Sunday Dare has warned that athletes who do not participate at the National Open Trials will not make the Nigerian team to the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
The Minister gave the warning in Abuja when he paid a visit to the athletes at the Moshood Abiola national Stadium , as part of measures to encourage them following a failure of the Athletes to participate at the World Relays Championship in Poland.
The seasoned journalist turned politician described the national trials as a significant event where the best of Nigerian athletes assemble to be selected for an international meet.
“Don’t forget that we would have National Trials in June and everybody, both home-based and foreign-based must show up for our Trials. If you don’t show up, you’ll not make Team Nigeria to the Olympics.
“National Trials are very important and any athlete that does not come will not make Team Nigeria, that is how important National Trials is. Is almost the second to the final point in which we select our final list of athletes and after that is the African championship in Algiers. So, the National Trials are very important even before I became the Minister and every athlete knows that,” Dare said.
