Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike is confident that the venue of the forthcoming Africa Wrestling Championship, the Alfred Diete Sports Complex, will be in perfect condition for the competition.
The venue of the five-day continental wrestling fiesta, formerly called the civil centre, has been under renovation in the past weeks in preparation for the championship. The competition takes place between February 5 and 11
Wike assured however that all arrangements were already in place to make the venue a comfortable place for visiting contingents of various countries.
The Governor said: “We have all the workers need in place and there is enough time for them to finish. I am also happy that the technical people in the sport have visited the venue to confirm it was okay. “The enabling environment for a world-class event is what we are trying to put in place and so far we are on course.”
The President of the Nigeria Wrestling Federation, Daniel Igali, told newsmen during an inspection recently that the AWC venue had all that was expected in international competition.
Igali said: “There will be three big mats at the complex for the competition so that three bouts can go on simultaneously and there is a good changing room. We also have warm up area.
“The media will also have the chance of talking to the wrestlers immediately after every bout because there is an area marked for that. Everything needed are in the venue, we expect a great tournament.”
Igali also revealed that there will be referees’ course between February 5 and 6 at the same venue. This will involve officials from all parts of the continent.
“We expect 30 Nigerian officials to be upgraded from their respective levels to improved ranks. It is a rare opportunity for our officials to get better and I am sure many of them will be excited to be part of this course,” Igali said.
The Wrestling Championship which takes place between February 5 and 11 will have Rivers hosting 25 countries.
A total of 90 wrestlers will represent Nigeria at the championship which also has 90 gold medals available in various categories.