President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s senior special assistant on grassroots sports development, Prince Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye has hailed what he referred to as an excellent catch them young impact he is seeing at the 2nd Niger Delta Games.
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Speaking exclusively to Sports247 at one of the Games’ venues in Edo State’s capital, Benin City, Prince Adeboye said he will always love being part of any competition that spots young talents.
The sports guru, who is fondly called ‘SSA,’ affirmed: “So far, so good … I’m happy with what I’m seeing at the Niger Delta Games. I’m here to spot new talents for our great country, and I’m already seeing many of them.
“The idea is to catch them young, and this NDDC-sponsored competition is a great grassroots programme to spot hidden talents.
“My coming here is a good thing for grassroots sports in Nigeria. I am always particular about catching them while they are young, and this competition is going a long way in doing it.”
While serving a strong hint that sports officials in other geo-political zones of Nigeria will soon follow the Niger Delta example, Adeboye enthused that many of the country’s future gold medalists will be uneathered at Edo 2026.
“We are already doing very well with elite sports. This time around, we are looking for young ones to fit in and replace older athletes.
“The important thing for me is to get them young at this level and then move them up to the national stage,” said Adeboye, who also gave motivational talks to some of the athletes.
The president’s SSA on grassroots sports made good use of time in between events to talk directly with athletes and prayed for them, as they sat in the stands waiting for competition to begin.
