Director-General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Alhassan Yakmut, on Thursday in Abuja said a total of 573 athletes and officials would represent Nigeria at the 11th All-Africa Games (AAG).

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Games will hold from Sept. 4 to Sept. 19 in Brazzaville, Congo.

Yakmut who gave a breakdown of the contingent while unveiling Team Nigeria’s Games kits said also that 20 accredited journalists would be part of the contingent.

He said the contingents would have 201 male and 178 female athletes, as well as 79 coaches.

“Others are 40 medical officers, 25 helpers for the para-sports athletes, 19 team secretaries, 18 Presidents of Sports Federations, 12 secretariat staff, one Chef De Mission and one Deputy Chef De Mission.”

He added that the country would participate in 20 sports at the Games.

Yakmut listed them as badminton, gymnastics, volleyball, beach volleyball, athletics, boxing, basketball, cycling, football, handball, judo, karate, para-athletics, para-powerlifting, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, weightlifting and wrestling.

He said the first batch of the contingent would depart for Congo on Sunday, while the second batch would leave Nigeria on Sept. 5.

“The last batch will leave on Sept. 13.”

Yakmut recalled that President Muhammadu Buhari had warned that the country’s participation in the Games must be transparent as possible to avoid a situation where athletes were shortchanged.

“To us in the NSC, transparency means that everything must be in the full glare of the public through the media.

“The media cannot report what they did not capture, so we have to carry them along.”

The director-general assured that participants would get their allowances and entitlements for the games as at when due and as agreed. (NAN)

•Photo shows DG Yakmut

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