Delta State have been awarded the hosting rights of the seventh National Youth Games by the Federal Ministry of Sports and Youth Development.
The games will take place hold next month in Asaba on the back of hosting the National Sports Festival in December which the state dominated by winning 320 gold medals.
The choice of picking Delta was reached during a virtual meeting of relevant stakeholders on Thursday.
The seventh edition of the National Youth Games was supposed to hold in Ilorin from December 13 to 21, 2022 but it became difficult to hold due to the closeness of the date for the National Sports Festival in Asaba.
Permanent Secretary of the sports ministry, Ismaila Abubakar highlighted the ministry’s commitment to finding an alternative host to “establish a standard programme for athletes’ succession”.
The games are set to take place at Dennis Osadebay University in Asaba with the host state affirming its readiness to conduct the event from February 8 to 18, 2023.
Delta were the best state from the last edition of the National Youth Games held in Ilorin in 2021, claiming 60 gold medals, 41 more than the next-best team, Lagos.
