The Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) has put all in place for its second Abuja International Marathon slated for 16th December 2023. According to the event organizers, athletes from the 15 ECOWAS member states will compete with elite runners from Kenya, Ethiopia, China, Korea, and others for a total prize money of $70,000. The Director of Youth and Sports Development at ECOWAS, Ambassador Francis Njoaguani, during a brief on Friday in the nation's capital, stated that the race goes beyond sports and its health benefits, aiming to create awareness about ECOWAS in Nigeria and promote sports for integration in the West Africa sub-region.
“The idea goes beyond the sports and health benefits of the marathon. There is also the need to create awareness around ECOWAS in Nigeria, where the ECOWAS headquarters is located. We all know that in Abuja, ECOWAS has several institutions.
The ECOWAS Commission, where we are today, is the main institution of ECOWAS. In Abuja, we also have the ECOWAS Parliament, as well as the ECOWAS Court of Justice, and of course, recently, the ECOWAS Office of the Auditor General. So, all four key institutions of ECOWAS are located here in Abuja, which is more reason why there is a need to have visibility for ECOWAS while promoting sports for integration. And that is the idea behind the ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon.
“This is the second edition, which means the first edition has been held successfully. It was held in December 2019 in collaboration with the FCT Sports Department. Attempting to hold the second edition was affected by the Covid-19 pandemic. But we are back with full force with our partners: the FCT Sports Department, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), and others.
“For this edition, we have two races: the Half Marathon and the 5km Road Race. The winners, male and female, in the Half Marathon will receive $10,000 each and a gold medal; the first runners-up, $5,000 each and a silver medal; and the second runners-up, $4,000 each and a bronze medal. The first position in the Road Race will get $750, the second position $500, and the third position $400. Also, the first 200 runners to reach the finish line will receive bronze medals each,” Njoaguani said.
Race Director Coach Gabriel Okon, while corroborating Njoaguani’s submission, noted that every technical aspect related to the race has been properly taken care of. “As the Ambassador has rightly said, this race was conceived about five years ago, and thank God that the second edition will be held tomorrow (Saturday). The half marathon is 21.098km, and if you look at the full marathon, it is 42.195km. This is the half marathon. We have some runners who are coming. The Ethiopians, and the Kenyans, two males, and two females. The marathon race rules will be aligned with the rules and regulations of World Athletics (WA) and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN).”
The Half Marathon will start at 07:00 am in front of the ECOWAS Secretariat, the 5km Road Race will commence at Banex Plaza. The ECOWAS Abuja International Marathon has been a powerful tool for youth empowerment and engagement, with significant impacts on the FCT economy, especially in the hospitality and allied industries, while also acting as a catalyst to boost tourism in the nation’s capital.
