Abuja, 12^thJuly, 2018.The programme of the 11^th Edition of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Traditional Wrestling Tournament took off in Niamey, Niger on Thursday, 12^thJuly, 2018 with a courtesy visit by the Director of the Youth and Sports Development Centre (EYSDC) of the ECOWAS Commission, Mr. Francis Njoaguani to debrief the Niger Minister of Youths and Sports, Mr. Kassoum Moctar on the organizing committee’s preparedness for the yearly games.

Welcoming the delegation, Mr. Moctar commended the ECOWAS Commission for its support in organizing the 3-day event.

Mr. Moctar also assured the delegation of his ministry’s commitment to host a successful event which started with a technical meeting to conduct medical examination of the 78 Member States candidates for fitness and drug compliance as well as determine their various categories.

The event will officially open on Friday, 13^thJuly, 2018 with preliminaries and semi-final bouts for the country teams.

The games will similarly continue on Saturday, 14^thJuly, 2018 with individual elimination sessions as well as the semi-finals of the 66kg, 76kg, 86kg, 100kg and 120kg categories.

The competition will climax on Sunday, 15^thJuly, 2018 with final bouts for all categories and groups.

Wrestlers from twelve ECOWAS Member States except Cabo Verde, Guinea and Togo have all arrived and enthusiastic to clinch the coveted trophies and prize money.

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