The Nigeria Archery Federation is organising a National Open Championship to be staged from March 2 to 6, 2021 at the Moshood Kashimawo Abiola Stadium and the Mogadishu Barracks in Abuja.
The Open Championship will attract athletes from all over the country with the military and para-military also participating.
The Federation will also use the Championship to train coaches and beginners in the game.
Also, budding athletes discovered in the National Open will be nurtured to represent Nigeria at International meets.
Speaking to our correspondent President of Nigeria Archery Federation, Alhaji Mohammed Abdullahi disclosed that the National Open Championship will also be used to select athletes that will represent the country at the African Championship slated for Abidjan, Cote D’Ivoire in July 2021.
According to him, “19 African countries will participate at the African Championship. It therefore means that we must take our best athletes to the African Championship and due to the Covid-19 pandemic we had a lull in our activities last year. We need to hit the ground running now and aspire to be among the elite archers in Africa.
Abdullahi who is cocksure that Nigeria flag will be hoisted at the archery event in 2024 Olympic Games slated for Paris, France, vowed that every hands is on the deck to make sure that Nigeria become a household name in the game across the continent.
The former Para-Soccer boss described archery as an expensive sport, saying the average Nigerian can’t afford the tools and accessories necessary for the game but promised that the game will soon be in every home in the country.
“The armbands, arrows, bows, bowstring, chest-guard, quiver and other tools for the games are very expensive. An average Nigerian may not be able afford these materials which can cost up to N100,000. To even import them is not easy as the supplier will take time to deliver them.
“Nigerians are yet to come in terms with the sport and we are crawling at our pace. With time, we will get there.” he concluded.
