Abuja 2021 Weightlifting : our aim is to discover new talents for the national team, says president

Ibrahim Aladi, the president of the Nigeria Weightlifting Federation (NWF), has spoken of the Federation’s commitment to scout for new talents for the national team, that would represent the country in international competitions.

The president told Journalists on Thursday, in Abuja, that constant competitions were the best avenues for discovering new talents.

Aladi was speaking against the backdrop of the maiden edition of the IGP National Open Weightlifting Championship organised by the Nigeria Police Weightlifting Association in collaboration with the NWF, our correspondent reports.

The NWF president said 12 coaches had been invited to look out for raw and new talents that can be useful to the Federation and the nation.

“We have invited close to 12 coaches. The aim of the championship is to scout for new talents, which we want to achieve all the time. The essence of the championship is to bring in new athletes to the national team.”

“A lifter must fulfil all the criteria to be a good lifter, the best lifters have to show the potential and ability to be considered for the national team.”

“Those lifters that are coming up, we will continue to train and retrain before bringing them on board”, he said.

He urged the military and paramilitary services to emulate the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) by organising competitions, saying, “sports is one of the ways we can reduce the rate of unemployment, crimes and insecurity in the country,” he said.

Our correspondent reports that the four-day championship, tagged ‘Abuja 2021’, is billed to end on Nov. 12.