Guardian

THE Nigeria Academicals Sports Committee (NASCOM) believes with Rhythm N’ Play, two million kids would voluntarily embrace sports across the country in the next two years.

As President Goodluck Jonathan officially launches Rhythm N’ Play, an initiative of NASCOM, on Thursday June 6, 2013 in Abuja, efforts would be geared toward collaborating with stakeholders to achieve this target.

According to Chairman of NASCOM, Yemi Idowu, the target is realistic, considering the collaboration with Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) and Youth Sports Federation of Nigeria (YSFON).

“With Rhythm N’ Play, we are targeting two million students in two years and we are hoping that the Rhythm N’ Play programme will cover about 60 students per school in at least 50 schools in each state of the federation on a monthly basis.

“We think it is a realistic target, which has been set by the Minister of Sports/Chairman, National Sports Commission, Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, when he approved the project. Children of school age are the primary participants of Rhythm N’ Play and this includes kids within and outside the formal education system.  The campaign is intended to reach children between the ages of 12 – 17 years and encourage active participation in regular sporting activity,” he said.

Idowu added, “after the launch, we will go to work at the state level by getting our ambassadors and stakeholders in each state to initiate the launching of the programme at the state level. NASCOM has decided to work through NSSF and YSFON at the state level. After the launch, we are also going to launch the harmonised calendar for our stakeholders and we will seek publicity and sponsorship for all their programmes.”

Idowu said Rhythm N’ Play is an exciting youth-friendly campaign aimed at enhancing mass youth participation in sporting activities and age-grade competitions.

He explained, “Rhythm N’ Play will rely heavily on the use of music, celebrities, volunteers, new media and other elements of pop culture to amplify and realise its objectives.”

For him, the campaign would be integrated into junior and secondary school sporting activities nationwide with Rhythm N’ Play Clubs set up in schools nationwide.

Six sports – football, athletics, ball games, calisthenics, martial arts and racket sports are the sports that Rhythm N’ Play will use, while the best sporting talents discovered through the platform of the programme will converge, fraternise and participate at the National Youth U-17 Games recently instituted by the National Sports Commission (NSC).