‘There was a plan to favour FCT, Delta at NSF’

The head coach of Oyo State kickboxing team, Gabriel Kolawole, has alleged that the just-concluded National Sports Festival hosted by Abuja was marred by cases of poor officiating and manipulations to favour the host city Abuja and eventual winners, Delta State.

Kolawole, who spoke with The PUNCH correspondent, said his team managed to win one gold, one silver and two bronze medals because of the commitment of the athletes and the coaching crew. Adegboyega Afeez won gold medal in the 54kg category while Olasunkanmi Ogundeji won silver in the 50kg category. Akeem Dodo and Adeyemi Jamiu won bronze medals for the state.

Kolawole said, “Kickboxing event shared the same venue (Aguiyi Ironsi Cantonment) with boxing where we witnessed a lot of activities that can be considered unfavourable for the development of sports in Nigeria. We had cases of match officials favouring athletes from the host city, Lagos and Delta states. We also have cases of poor officiating, which frustrated many athletes and officials at the venue.”

The PUNCH, December 20, 2018

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