Joseph said this on Thursday at the 23rd Milo Basketball Basketball Championship Central Conference finals in Abuja.
“When you talk of sports development, it starts from the grassroots. We have to find a way of getting the children engaged in sports. The benefits are enormous.
“First, you are building a sound mind in a healthy body, the training exposes them to life but it also promotes good health, and opens a lot of opportunities for them. This tournament has been on for 23 years and we have discovered a lot of athletes through this. Some of them are playing at the highest level, and some are playing in the Chinese tournament.
“When you engage children through sports, they don’t think of vices, so sports reduce vices in children,” said Joseph who was represented by the National Treasurer, NSSF, Obafunso Usman.
Also, the Category Manager of Beverages, Nestlé Nigeria, Olutayo Olatunj said the championship started with less than 500 schools in 1999 but now brings together over 10,000 schools every year.
“The school games have grown beyond being just a sport to a passion that helps to discipline the body and mind as well as set a solid foundation for success in life. While the game requires hard work, players also learn to exert their skills each time they participate.
“Young people have a lot to learn from playing basketball because it instills critical values such as discipline, determination, respect, and teamwork in them,” she said.
Category Development Manager of Beverages, Nestlé Nigeria, Funmilola Oyewole added that Milo is at the forefront of sports development in Nigeria.
In the girls’ category, Government Secondary School, Karu, Abuja FCT defeated Queen Amina College Kakuru, Kaduna State by 35 points to 24 points.
In the boys’ category, Father O’Connell Science College Minna defeated Government Secondary School, Karu, Abuja FCT, by 53 points to 49 points.
