Follow Us on Google
Sola Ojo, Kaduna
The Nigerian Army’s 1 Division yearly sporting event, the Inter-Brigade Sports Competition, scheduled to hold opened on Monday and will run to September 27.
The tournament, currently ongoing at the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) Sports Complex, Ribadu Cantonment, Kaduna, is an annual event amongst formations under the Army’s 1 Division.
Participants were drawn from 3 Brigade, Kano; 31 Artillery Brigade, Minna; and 1 Division Garrison, Kaduna.
Declaring the tournament open, General Officer Commanding (GOC), 1 Div, Major General Faruq Yahaya, reminded the participants of the need to embrace the spirit of sportsmanship.
“The competition is aimed at selecting sportsmen and women that will represent the Division in the forthcoming Nigerian Army Sports Festival,” General Yahaya said.
“This year’s Division Inter-Brigade Sports Championship is yet another opportunity for the brigades under the Command to slug it out in 19 sporting events.
“This should improve your spirit of team work and build your endurance. This is also part of the efforts by the current Army leadership to have responsible and responsive troops for the protection of Nigeria’s territorial integrity.
“On the whole, it is expected that the championship would bring forth new talents, new sportsmen and women who would represent the Division, the NA and the Country at international sporting events.”
Earlier, the Garrison Commander, 1 Div, Brigadier General Jimmy Akpor, said the event was designed to enable troops develop their sports skills to brighten the Division’s chances in global sports championships.
About 900 athletes and officers are expected to participate in the competition which features football, athletics, judo, swimming, basketball, tennis, boxing, tug of war, cross country/half marathon, chess, scrabble, volleyball, taekwondo, badminton, among its competitive sports.
