BY ANDREW EKEJIUBA
Minister of Youth and Sports Development Mr. Sunday Dare has been honoured by the Association of National Olympics Committees of Africa (ANOCA) with the Highest Order of Sports Administrator Award for his immense contributions to the growth of the Olympics Movement and Sports in Africa.
Conferring the Award on the Minister during a courtesy visit to his office in Abuja on Tuesday, President of ANOCA Mr. Mustapha Berraf said “ANOCA is happy with the role Dare played in ensuring the completion of its headquarters in Abuja, and are very proud of all he had done for sports Development in Nigeria and Africa.
“We hereby present this award to you for your great work and contributions to sports development.
“We are very proud of you and look forward to an enduring relationship for the future of our sports.”
In his response, Dare thanked ANOCA for the honour and award which he described as quite special.
He said, “When I met you in Morocco few months on assumption of office, the chemistry was spontaneous because of our love for sports development in Africa.
“Since I met you, I’ve learnt a lot about sports in Africa and its bits of politics.
“You need an undying spirit to succeed in sports.
“ANOCA has grown from strength to strength and we are proud of hosting ANOCA office on our soil.
“We sincerely thank the IOC President and yourself for the role you played in making Nigeria the Olympics Capital of Africa.
“Thank you so much for the partnership you offer us.”
On the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Dare said the visit is timely, coming at a time Nigeria is preparing for the Tokyo Olympics to use the power of sports and give hope to people that sports can conquer covid-19.
“As we look forward to Tokyo, I wish that as Nigeria excels, Algeria can also excel so that we all can celebrate Africa’s success.
“I look forward to the invitation to the ANOCA meeting in Cairo, Egypt as well as the African Athletics Championships in Algiers.”
