BENIN CITY – The Chairman of the Board of Directors of Edo Sports Council Mr. Harrison Omagbon has appealed to Edo State government to key into the promotion of Ogiurhise (Ayo) Sports in order to encourage youths to embrace the sport.
The sports council board chairman gave the charge at the closing ceremony of the First Benin Ogiurhise (Ayo) Festival held at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City.
The Chair who was represented at the ceremony by Hon. Eddy Ogbomo explained that promotion of the game through the organisation of festivals such as this, the youths would have been provided the necessary platform to embrace the game which he said is traditional to the Benin people.
Going down memory lane, the chairman said the Ogiurhise sports could be said to be as old as the Benin Kingdom with the active involvement by all strata of the Benin society.
Besides the entertainment component of the sports, the chairman expressed delight at the listing of the sport in the National Sports Festival.
Earlier in her address, the Organizer/Promoter of Ogiurhise Sport Lady Doris Iyobosa Omoragbon said the purpose of the competition was to create more awareness in the traditional Ogiurhise (Ayo) game and also to discover talents which could be harnessed for the forthcoming National Sports Festival holding in Calabar.
At the end of the competition, Mohammed Idris emerged tops in the Senior Category of the tournament.