The Chairman of Ogun State Boxing Association, Christopher Somide, has told the state government to protect boxing talents in the state by offering them employment before they’re hijacked by other states, ahead of the next edition of National Sports Festival.
The NSF 2024 Christened ‘Gateway Games’ will be taking place in Ogun State.
Somide expressed confidence in the quality of boxers in the state, saying they have what it takes to clinch all the 25 gold medals with the needed investment in the boxers.
He spoke when the boxing association paid the Commissioner for Sports Development, Wasiu Isiaka, a courtesy visit at his office in Abeokuta.
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Somide who was represented by an International Boxing Association (IBA) Referee, Razak Oyadiran maintained that, lack of sponsorship to foreign training and permanent employment for many of the boxers, discourage them from representing the state at any national events.
“The boxers, discovered, raised, trained in Ogun State up to champion level, but alas, at the die minutes, many of these talents would be taken away from Ogun state and we find ourselves fighting against people we discovered at the National Festival.
“So when you have a talent that you have discovered, that you are nurturing, then you should make sure that you protect that boxer, because there are people who want to steal these boxers at the last minute,” he said.
