The Kwara State ADC Governorship Candidate, Hon. Zakari Mohammed, has unveiled plans to construct mini-stadia across the state’s 16 local government areas as part of his grassroots youth development and economic blueprint aimed at tackling unemployment, youth restiveness and insecurity.
Hon. Zakari Mohammed made this known while speaking at the Kwara Sports Hard Talk, held at the Taiwo Awoniyi Sports Media Centre, Kwara SWAN Secretariat, Ilorin, where he outlined his proposed strategy for engaging young people and developing sports in the state.
He noted that the proposed mini-stadia would take sporting facilities closer to young people in their various communities, allowing talents from the grassroots to be identified, nurtured and given opportunities to compete at higher levels.
According to him, the initiative would not be limited to football, but would provide spaces where young people could participate in different sporting activities and develop their talents.
Hon. Zakari Mohammed also promised to establish a structured talent-development pipeline that would enable the state to identify promising athletes from the local government areas and provide them with the necessary coaching, facilities and support to progress to elite-level competition.
He said the development of sports at the grassroots would also create opportunities for young people to build careers within and outside the sporting arena, including coaching, sports management, officiating and other areas of the sports industry.
The ADC governorship candidate said sports development could serve as an intervention against youth unemployment, restiveness and insecurity by keeping young people actively engaged in productive activities.
He stressed the need for government to move beyond occasional sporting competitions and adopt a sustained system of talent discovery and development that would make sports a viable pathway for youth empowerment.
Hon. Zakari Mohammed said the proposed sports reforms would also focus on improving the utilisation of existing sporting facilities across the state, while ensuring that new infrastructure is properly maintained and made accessible to young people.
The former Kwara state commissioner for youth and sports Development said the administration he hopes to lead would give priority to programmes capable of producing measurable results within its first 100 days in office.
According to him, grassroots sports development would form part of the immediate interventions designed to create opportunities for young people and strengthen the state’s sporting ecosystem.
He also mentioned that the proposed mini-stadia would provide communities with facilities for training, competitions and other youth-focused activities, thereby creating platforms for discovering talents who could eventually represent Kwara at national and international competitions.
Hon. Zakari Mohammed said his administration would also seek greater collaboration with sports associations, private investors, coaches and other stakeholders to build a sustainable sports development system in Kwara State.
He emphasised that the objective was to make sports an integral part of youth development, economic empowerment and community development across the state.
