The Anambra School Sports Festival on Saturday wound down at the Awka Township Studium with the U17 male football match between Washington Memorial Grammar School Onitsha and Bubendorf Memorial Grammar School, Adazi-Ani.
Washington Memorial defeated Bubendorf Memorial grammar school by 4-2 through penalties after a barren draw.
In a match decided earlier, Uncle Ralph de Great emerged winners of the U13 football event (male) after stunning their fellow finalists, Eri Primary School 3-1 in the entertaining game played at the Awka township stadium.
The winners who showed an interesting display of skill and strength decided the game in the first half when they netted three goals before the break.
Governor Chukwuma Soludo who was represented byhis Deputy, Dr Onyekachukwu Ibezim, described sports as having immense health, social and intellectual benefit adding that his administration would adopt a bottom-up approach to the development of the sector.
He also said that it is a new era for sports development in Anambra. He encouraged the students to take their studies seriously as they explore the benefits of football . He congratulated all of them, especially the local government, schools and students that won in special ways.
Th Chairman Anambra State sports development Commission Patrick-Estate Onyedum, thanked Soludo for graciously approving and funding the festival after more than 10 years of being muribond.
Onyedum said the school sports festival was an addition to the successes of the Commission within the nine months period he had steered activities in Anambra sports sector.
He said the festival which started on May 17 began with about 17,000 students from about 610 Primary and secondary school which progressed through community, Local Government Area and zonal elimination stages.
According to him, outstanding student athletes from this competition will go on to represent Anambra at the upcoming National Youth Games which will hold in September this year and National Sports Festival to be hosted by Ogun State next year.
Scouts from local and foreign origin have been able to spot some talents with sporting potentials, these can go on to become great sports personalities in the nearest future.
We will keep an eye on these athletes and monitor their progress because school sports festivals provide a veritable platform for identification and nurturing of potential sportsmen’s and women,” he said.
Vision Secondary School, Nnewi emerged the overall best performing school in the festival while three students went home with three brand new bicycles through raffle draws courtesy of the Chairman of the Sports commission.
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