The President of the Republic of Maldives, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, over the weekend has hailed the Minister of sports, Sunday Dare for his strides in developing sports in Nigeria and the African region.
He stated this over the weekend during the Maldives 2023 Sports Awards where Dare received a ‘Special Recognition Award’ for his huge contribution to sports.
“I congratulate the Sports Minister of Nigeria, and I want people to know that we followed his progress over a period of time before deciding to honour him with this Award,” he said.
The Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Republic of Maldives, Ahmed Mahloof, also stated that the award was a recognition for Dare’s hard work within a short time in office.
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Maldivian president salutes Dare for role in sports growth
Some global sports personalities were also conferred with Sports Icons Awards at the ceremony such as football legend, Nwankwo Kanu, Italy’s 2006 World Cup-winning captain, Fabio Cannavaro and England’s ex- international goalkeeper, David James.
In his response, the Sports Minister, Sunday Dare thanked the organisers of the event and added that the recognition was a challenge to him to do more in any capacity he finds himself.
“It is a validation of the modest efforts we have made as a country in the past 3 plus years to reposition sports. There is still more to do and this award will propel us forward in the right direction.”
“This is a good one for Nigeria, especially with Kanu also recognised in the sports icon category,” he added.
