AKPABIO TO ESTABLISH A FOOTBALL TEAM

Ex-governor and Senate Minority Leader, Chief Godswill Akpabio, has indicated keen interest in establishing a formidable football team in the country.
Chief Akpabio said the team would help Nigeria compete in international tournaments.
In his word: “I am very determined to have a team, not just a football team but a team in terms of athletics. I will like to sponsor something even if I start from my Senatorial District.”
Speaking to journalists at the Ibom Le Meridien and Golf Resort, Uyo, about the recent Olympics, the Senate Minority Leader said he would commence the process as soon as there was improvement in the economy of the country, maintaining that the bane of sporting activities in Nigeria was the lack of proper preparation.
He said Nigeria went to sleep immediately after each Olympic Games only to wake up three months to the next games for preparation.
“We cannot win because of lack of proper preparation. We must start early putting in money to train these people. Early to bed means early to rise,” Akpabio said.
Chief Akpabio said he watched a film about how Serena Williams trained six hours daily for competitions, adding that the rigorous training undertaken consistently by Williams made her flexible, agile and able to perform magic on the court even at 34 years of age.
The ex-Governor, who built the 30,000 Capacity Ibom International Stadium, noted that training six hours daily for two years meant discipline and that such an athlete could not be beaten easily by opponents.
“Our children usually suffer culture shock during international sporting fiesta because they are never exposed to international competitions and training. Some of our children, the first time they enter plane or go for international completion is during Olympic Games,” he said.
“When you suffer from culture shock, there is no way you can win, that is why we built an international stadium like the one in Spain or Sun City. This is a futurist stadium that will not allow our children to suffer from culture shock.”
The Senate Minority Leader said that training was very vital to the moulding and discipline of sports men and women, recalling how his investment in Godswill Akpabio Scrabble International Classic led to Nigeria winning the World Scrabble competition in 2015.
Chief Akpabio called on individuals and corporate organisations to invest in sports to harness indigenous grassroots talents for the betterment of the country.