Prince Dapo Abiodun, the Governor of Osun State, has made mention of his administration’s plans to build a brand new Anthony Joshua Indoor Boxing Ring in the state.
The governor made this announcement to the media who were present for Anthony Joshua’s visit to the governor’s office on Monday. He further said the two-time heavyweight champion would be lighting the Gateway Games National Sports Festival torch come May 2025.
Abiodun went on to say, “I want to openly request that, besides the fact that today we are going to officially confirm you as our sports ambassador, we want to request that you come back to light up the Gateway Sports Festival torch; you will be the one lighting it up.
“We are going to construct a brand new Anthony Joshua Indoor Boxing Ring, and that boxing ring will be in a stadium here in Abeokuta to ensure that you come home more frequently. Besides the fact that you are now our official sports ambassador, we have decided that we will give you a brand new house in Sagamu.”
Governor Abiodun emphasized that Joshua has to work alongside the Director General of the National Sports Commission and the state commissioner for sports development to host a boxing championship in the state.
“We want to plead that you also find ways to support us back home. We believe that we should have tournaments planned leading to the sports festival, and you were expressing how you will participate and what you can do to mentor.
“We leave you to work with our Director General of the National Sports Commission and the Commissioner for Sports Development on what we can do to ensure that we have activities leading to the sports festival in your boxing arena.
“Proudly, we bid for the National Sports Festival for this year, and we won that bid. The festival was supposed to be in January; however, for some technical reasons, it’s been postponed to sometime in May.
“In preparation for the sports festival, we are spending a lot of money; we are totally refurbishing, rehabilitating, and reconstructing our sporting facilities. As you know, sports is a universal language; it brings people from different parts of the world together,” he said.
Abiodun also stated that Joshua is a source of inspiration to numerous talents in the music and sports industry and also thanked him for showcasing Nigeria as a whole to the world’s spotlight.
He said, “Your coming back home will be a source of motivation and inspiration for many young men who are aspiring sportsmen, and we have quite a lot of them in Ogun State.
“I want to congratulate you on what you have achieved in such a short span of time. You’ve made a short story of your life and your career.
“Whatever we can do to encourage you to continue to win more laurels for yourself, your family, the state, and Nigeria, be assured that we will be more than happy to do that. We watch your career grow, and we are going to support your career in every way we can,” he said.
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