FG Eases Ban On Outdoor Sports.

FG Eases Ban On Outdoor Sports.

Abdulsobur 

The Federal Government of Nigeria has announced that it had lifted its ban on non-contact outdoor sports, while also approving the use of recreational parks for physical exercise under strict supervision.

The Federal Government had in March placed a restriction on sporting activities, following the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Furthermore,  National Coordinator of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19, Dr Sani Aliyu, in a briefing in Abuja on Thursday, said the federal government had decided to ease the restriction on outdoor non-contact sports but stressed that recreational parks are not to be used for social interaction purposes.

“For recreational parks/communal sports, restrictions are removed on outdoor communal non-contact sports and the use of recreational parks for supervised physical exercise, not for social interactions. For recreational parks that are unable to enforce this, we expected them to remain closed.

“For outdoor non-contact sports, these include tennis, table tennis, squash, badminton, cycling, athletics, golf, polo, para-athletics, cricket and other non-contact outdoor communal activities. In the event that people are not certain, please contact the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports for further guidance.”

Confirming the new development, the media aide to the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, John-Joshua Akanji, said that the ministry would gradually ease the ban, adding that it doesn’t guarantee the October date for the 2020 National Sports Festival.

He said, “The NCDC (Nigeria Centre for Disease Control) issued a statement to that effect but the lifted ban does not guarantee that National Sports Festival is confirmed to hold in October.

“So, any decision that will be taken will be in conjunction with the NCDC, the PTF and of course the final person who is the President of Nigeria.