Adeola Opeifa, the Chairperson of the Lagos State Handball Association, on Friday expressed confidence on the capacity of the state’s teams to qualify from the South West Zone Eliminations holding in Ibadan, Oyo State.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the event is the qualifiers for the 2017 National Youth Games which would hold from September 7 to September 17 in Ilorin, Kwara.
Opeifa told NAN that the Lagos male and female teams would compete with Oyo, Ogun, Ekiti and Osun.
She said: “Our players are in top form and are technically ready to prove their supremacy to their opponents in this competition, I am confident in the ability of the teams.
“Lagos has always distinguished itself in the zone in sports, including handball, so our players are also primed to perform creditably in the group matches.
“This competition is important to us and because of our target of coming top teams in the zone, we went extra mile to get the players prepared.”
The administrator told NAN that the teams, which comprised 14 players each, were carefully selected due to their outstanding performances in major grassroots competitions organised in the state.
Opeifa said: “The NYG is one of the reasons we are proactive in our grassroots championships, which has helped us to identify the players in the state teams for the qualifiers.”
She told NAN that the contingent of 28 players and team of technical officials departed the state on August 18 for the competition billed for the Liberty Stadium, Ibadan.