Sports Minister To Receive Award In Maldives

Sports Minister To Receive Award In Maldives

Alfred Kadiri

Mr Sunday Dare, the honourable Minister of Sports and Youth Development, is to be conferred with a 'Special Recognition Award' in the Republic of Maldives in recognition of his contribution to the development of sports in Nigeria and the African region.

BSNSports.com.ng gathered, as the Minister of Youth, Sports and Community Empowerment, Republic of Maldives, Ahmed Mahloof, stated that the award is being conferred on Sunday Dare, not only for his contribution to the development of sports in Nigeria but to the African region as a whole.

"In recognition of the work, you have carried out for the development of sports in your country and African region, we will be conferring the 'Special Recognition Award' on your Excellency," he said.

The conferment ceremony which will be held in the Republic of Maldives on the 16th of March will be attended by the world-renowned Ibrahim Mohamed Solih, world-renowned athletes as well as Maldivian athletes, among others.

It will be recalled that in recognition of his stellar performances since his assumption as minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Dare has bagged various awards including the Award of Excellence.in Public.Service, an award given by President Muhammadu Buhari, the National Telegraph Most Innovative Minister Award, the Blueprint Sports Icon of the Year Award, the Youth Award in the United States of America, and the African Illustrious Minister of the Year Award among many others.

Apart from the various awards, Dare has initiated a lot of programmes like the Adopt initiative as well as the 10-year National Sports Industry Policy, the 10-year Football Development Masterplan, the Talent Hunt Program, the return of the long and middle distance races, and the cross country race in Nigeria after almost 40 years in the doldrums. He also embarked on the rehabilitation of sports facilities across the country, efforts that have impacted positively on Nigerian sports.

Under's leadership, Nigeria posted her best Commonwealth Games first-ever in August 2022 and produced her first-ever World Record holder and World champion(in athletics) in Tobi Amusan.

You would also recall that Nigeria had her best Olympic Games performance in 13 years with 2 Medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.