The Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) on Friday announced that no fewer than 10,000 students across the country would jostle for trophies in the first Board Championship.
The federation’s president, Olabisi Joseph, confirmed this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.
The NSSF president said board games helped players to improve their mental alertness, think critically and plan.
NAN reports that board games are sports which involve counters or pieces moved or placed on pre-marked surfaces such as monopoly, draft, scrabble and chess.
State finals kick off from March 22 to March 26; regional trials start from April 1 to April 3, while the finals kick off from April 18 to April 23.
“We need to engage these students, and I understand that not everyone will be interested in football or track and field and basketball.
“Take for instance, scrabble. It helps you build your vocabulary and also think critically so that you can attract more points.
“So, when they apply all these skills, it makes them well grounded as adults.
“These and more are some of the reasons we decided that these championships will hold and help us develop talents,” she said.
The NSSF president also reiterated the commitment of the Federation to capacity-building, saying training sports administrators across the country would be done quarterly.
A two-day capacity building tagged ‘Total Education through School Sports’ for sports coordinator is scheduled to take place via zoom from March 18 to March 19. (NAN)