By Lamarana S Jallow
The Executive Director of the National Sports Council (NSC), Mr. Marchel K. Mendy has said that the National Youth Conference and Festival (NAYCONF) is an opportunity for coaches to hunt talents in the various sporting events that are staged simultaneously across the different venues.
Mr. Mendy, who doubles as the chairman of the sports committee, expressed good impressions about the amount of talents he saw in the biannual event, which was held in the capital city, Banjul.
“.. We deliberately came up with rules that will expose new talents. We do not intend to go to the NAYCONF and see the same players we saw in the leagues: volleyball, football, athletics championships,’’ he explained.
He pointed out that discipline is a key consideration in a successful staging of any event, noting that he is impressed with the performance of the different teams competing in the various sporting disciplines.
Mr Mendy also expressed satisfaction that no major incident was reported in the NAYCONF, and encouraged the teams to maintain the high sense of discipline.
He informed that they had a technical meeting with the various coaches and senior members of the sporting delegations, discussed with them issues of violence and the need for them to accept the outcome of the results even if they are unfavorable.
The 13th edition of the NAYCONF was held from the 15th to 23rd December 2022, on the theme: ‘The role of young people in the maintenance of peace and security for socio-economic development of the country, challenges and opportunities’.
