The Director-General of Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), Oluwatoyin Gafar, on Wednesday said the state was already planning ahead of the post-COVID-19 era of sports activities with some programmes already lined up.
Gafar in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) said that the sports commission would commence the opening up of sports activities with seminars on COVID-19 protocols to sensitise its athletes.
NAN reports that the Federal Government had earlier announced reopening of non-contact sports activities after several months ban to curtail the spread of COVID-19 pandemic.
In the same vein, the Lagos State Sports Commission (LSSC), announced the re-opening of the stadium for non-contact sports as approved by the Federal Government.
The five listed non-contact sports approved by LSSC to train are Racket Sports such as Badminton, Table Tennis, Tennis as well as Track and Field event.
Other athletes have also commenced training at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere and the Rowe Park Sports Center, Yaba, strictly in line with COVID-19 protocol for sports.
Gafar revealed that there were lots to learn about observing the COVID-19 protocols and keeping the Lagos-based athletes safe.
“We have drawn up some plans and working on them tirelessly. We want to ensure that sports remains the top priority of the government, so we have put up some strategies.
“We will have some demonstration competitions very soon and in another two days, we hope to engage some selected athletes to prepare them for post-COVID-19 era and how to go about their sports.
“We want to engage athletes from the 10 non-contact sports approved by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) to educate them on how to cope with the recent times.
“All over the world, sports is gradually returning. Five months of inactivity is not exciting in any way because sports itself is life and bring life,” he said.
Gafar said that Lagos State would continue to set the pace through proactive measures aimed at sports developments.
“As we all know, we are the first to shut down our sports activities even before the Federal Government announced the COVID-19 lockdown.
“Now we are setting the pace on the way to abide by the COVID-19 protocols for activities because safety of our athletes is uppermost in our hearts.
“We want to let the world know that sports is ready in Lagos State, therefore they should come and enjoy it.
“On the line-up of activities before us, we shall ensure that the programmes are followed and whenever the PTF agrees to open up on the National Sports Festival, we will also be ready.
“We will continue to treat sports in its business angle and not a recreational activities as some classify it to be,” he said. (NAN)
