He added that the exclusion would also affect the sport’s inclusion in the National Sports Festival.
According to him, the inclusion of the sport in Ibile Games and the sports festival would assist the federation to build grassroots talents in it.
He, however, added that rugby was not included in the Ibile Games due to the low number of athletes that usually participate in the event.
The chairman said that the association had reduced the number of players from 20 to seven to make it easier for sponsorship in the next edition of Ibile Games.
“There is no way we can discover and develop upcoming talents if we don’t engage in any championship because that is the only way to assess athletes after training to know their level.
“The exclusion will also affect us because the Ibile Games are preparatory event where athletes will be selected to represent the state for regional and national competitions.
“Normally about 20 athletes play rugby, 15 players with five reserves so it is not easy to sponsor both male and female teams having 40 athletes expecting one medal from the event.
“The association has therefore decided to reduce the number of players to seven with five reserves. Generally, we will have 24 players in both male and female categories.
“Even with such high number of players the sport should be included in Ibile Games and the NSF events in the next edition since football has 11 players with 5 reserves,” Coker said.
The 19th National Sports Festival, tagged “Paradise Games” will hold in Calabar, Cross River from Nov. 23 to Dec. 7. (NAN)
