1st July, 2015
Taiwo Adelu
The maiden Kiddies Olympics will hold in Lagos this October. The event, which is targeted at primary school pupils in Lagos, is being organised by Klozit Nigeria Limited in conjunction with National Association of SUBEB Sports Officers, Lagos branch.
CEO of Klotiz and head of the competition’s Project Management Team, Mr. Nurudeen Aluko, said Kiddies Olympics will provide a platform for pupils in primary schools in Lagos (boys and girls) to exercise their God-given talent in a competitive environment.
“The Kiddies Olympics is an initiative created to explore the talents, ability and interest of every young at heart. The tournament is borne out of the need to discover young athletes at their early ages. We believe that there should be a platform to reward hard work and simultaneously stimulate fun for these kids,” Aluko said.
He added that “this championship is put together by Klozit Limited in conjunction with Isaac Daniels and in collaboration with State Universal Basic Education Board and Association of Lagos SUBEB Sport officers.
“The maiden edition is coming up in Lagos in October with the following sport events: Football, Track and Fields, Scrabble, Table Tennis and Handball. Participatory schools for the maiden edition are primary schools in Lagos comprising 2,000 schools in both public and private schools.
“Apart from creating a platform of fun for the pupils in primary schools and a veritable ground for talent discovery, we also want to celebrate sports at tender age for our future generation and introduce these children to different sports at their tender age.
“We are looking up to corporate organisations in Nigeria for sponsorship as well as support from sports ministries and sport associations in Nigeria, governmental bodies and individuals as we plan to take this noble idea to the national level beginning with southwest zone edition next year.”
Giving details on the organisation of the competition, Prince Olu Akapo, National President of SUBEB Sport Directors, said the tournament will feature U-13 boys and girls in the 2015-2016 school session.
According to him, the Kiddies Olympics Mascot will be unveiled very soon, while pre-selection of athletes across Local Government Education Authorities (LGEA) and the six Education Districts in Lagos State will start any moment from now.
These will produce the finalists for the week-long event from 24-31 October this year.
“Relevant authorities in Lagos State have been informed about what we are doing and I’m happy to say that the problem of facilities has been solved as Lagos has enough sports facilities that will be made available to us,” Akapo said.