Faith Academy Kaduna have emerged winners of the maiden Kaduna State Inter Schools Sports Festival, which ended in Kaduna on Saturday evening at the Ahmadu Bello Stadium, Kaduna.
They won a total of 26 medals, comprising 16 gold, nine silver and one bronze to achieve the feat.
Second position was clinched by Bethel Baptist College with six gold, two silver and three bronze.
Our Lady of Fatima, an all girls school placed third with four gold, seven silver and five bronze medals.
In an interview with newsmen after the presentation of prizes and trophies, Chairman of the Main Organising Committee (MOC), mr. Emmanuel Nden described the sports festival as historic.
He said he was happy that it started and ended successfully.
Nden commended the participants for discipline exhibited all through, while also thanking the Director Grassroots Sports Development, Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, Dr. Ademola Are, Commissioner of Youth Sports and Culture, Honourable Daniel Danauta, Zonal Coordinator Federal Ministry of Youth And Sports Development, North West, Mr. Olusola Luke and the President Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Engineer Musa Nimrod for gracing the festival.
Also speaking, facilitator of the festival, Coach Felix Osiebe assured that talents discovered would be groomed and presented for trials ahead of the National Youth Games, where they hope to represent Kaduna State.
He explained that though they planned to host forty schools, only 28 participated.
“We invited 171 schools but with our target at getting 40 to feature. We exceeded the target and got entries from 48 schools but the security challenges in the Kaduna metropolis made some pull out, leaving only 28 participants, ” he disclosed.
When reacting to their victory, captain of Faith Academy team, Josiah Joel said that they were happy they finished tops.
Joel, who is the school’s games prefect said that at the initial stage, they had stiff competition but improved over time.
He assured that other students in the school who are not active in sports would be motivated to start active participation as a result of their success.
The top teams were presented with cash prizes donated by a Lagos based firm, Making of Champions, which made N200,000 prize money available.
Champions got N80, 000, first runners up N50,000 and second runners-up N30, 000.
The two-day festival solely sponsored by Faith Academy Kaduna in collaboration with the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and the Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON) was held on June 22 and 23.
