EBSA Chairman Hopeful of Staging Referees/Judges Seminar for South-East Boxing Officials

Osondu Ogbu, chairman of Enugu State Boxing Association (EBSA), on Thursday in Enugu assured that a referees/judges seminar would hold in the zone before the end of the year. Ogbu, who represented the South-East Zone in the last Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF) board, expressed the seminar was what the zone needed at the moment.

“The seminar will help to upgrade more officials from the zone to the national referees badge“. We do not have enough referees/judges from the South-East and my plans at the moment is to ensure that we produce more. “I wanted to organise tournament for the boxers, but discovered that we do not have enough officials from the zone. “Even if I organise tournament for the boxers from the zone, the problem of inadequate officials have not been solved.

“Tournament will come and go but the zone will always face cheating at national tournaments,” he said. Ogbu said his concern was to ensure that several referees/judges from the zone get the national badge. “I want people from the South-East to be part of referees who will be organising and officiating tournaments in Nigeria. “Let’s first get them into administration categories of boxers because we have enough boxers from the zone who are doing well and that tells from their outing at the last National Sports Festival (NSF) in Benin,” he said.

Ogbu said boxers from the south-east zone were doing well after the coaches discovered and nurtured them, but they still needed government help. He added that the Commissioners for Youth and Sports in all the South-East State’s were all aware of his plan. “We are going to pick five candidates from each state for the three or four days the referees/judges seminar will take place in Enugu,” Ogbu said.