650 athletes to participate in 8th NAF games

air-france

The Nigerian Air Force (NAF) on Wednesday said 650 athletes would participate in the 8th NAF games scheduled to hold from Oct. 24 to Oct. 29 in Katsina State.

Air Commodore Charles Oghomwen, Chairman, NAF Games 2016, told newsmen at the NAF Headquarters, Abuja, that the objective of the games was to promote participation in sporting activities toward personnel fitness.

The event is tagged: “Katsina 2016’’ with the theme:“Sports: A Vital Tool for Professionalism in NAF’’.

Oghomwen also said that the essence of the games was to foster `esprit-de-corps’(friendliness) amongst the personnel.

He said that the games were also to serve as an avenue to select athletes that would represent NAF in future championships.

He said further that the games were a symbol of harmony that bonded the competing teams together.

“It creates an awareness drive for both the competing teams and the general public.

“It projects the service image and endears it into the hearts of the general public and the sports community in particular,’’ he said.

According to Oghomwen, five teams including Direct Reporting Units and Units under each command were expected to participate in the events.

The chairman stressed the need for proper coordination of all the activities, bearing in mind the nature of the event.

He recalled that the game’s committee had visited six states – Bauchi, Katsina, Enugu , Plateau, Niger and Benue, in order to find a suitable venue for the event.

“Having completed its tour, Katsina State was found most suitable for the event because of its excellent synthetic pitch.

“The State was also chosen because of its fantastic indoor and outdoor sports facilities within the city,’’ he said,” he said.

He said that the State Government had promised to give its maximum support to NAF toward successful hosting of the event.

The events to be competed for include: Athletics, Basketball, Badminton, Cross Country, Football, Golf, Handball, Squash, Swimming, Table tennis, Tennis, Volleyball and Wrestling.

The chairman said prizes and trophies would be awarded to deserving participants.

He also promised fairness and unbiased officiating throughout the event, adding that the officials would apply international standards just like those applied during the National Sports Festival.

The last edition of the event was held in 2011.