We will focus, give priority to young archers, Abdullahi says

Mohammed Abdullahi, the President of Nigeria Archery Federation (NAF), on Thursday said the federation would focus more on the young talents in the sport.

Abdullahi was speaking on Team Nigeria’s performance at the just concluded African Archery Championship in Pretoria, South Africa.

Archery is the sport, practice, or skill of using a bow to shoot arrows. The word comes from the Latin arcus, meaning bow.

Historically, archery has been used for hunting and combat. In modern times, it is mainly a competitive sport and recreational activity

Nigeria’s team of five athletes emerged second overall at the tournament and an elated Abdullahi believes the sport could bring in more medals for the country in future international events.

“We are really delighted with Nigeria’s performance in Pretoria. It was a huge feat for us considering the fact that we faced tough competitors.

“What we are looking forward to is to have more competitions, more international exposure and more train-the-trainers workshops to ensure the growth of the game in the country.

“We will focus and also give more priority to the young talents because we have to catch them young.

“The best time to expose athletes to the game of archery is at a young age, so that in no distant time, they can replace the older hands and even feature in the Olympics and more global events,” he said.

Meanwhile, Abdullahi also emerged one of the Vice President of the Africa Archery Federation in the elections held in Pretoria, as part of activities on the sideline of the competition.

By virtue of his emergence as one of the vice presidents of the African Federation, Abdullahi, will oversee the West and Central Africa Archery Federations.

“It is an opportunity to improve the game in West and Central Africa. We will join forces with all countries involved in Archery to ensure the growth of the game, especially at the grassroots,” Abdullahi said.