The Alake of Egbaland in Ogun, Oba Adedotun Gbadebo, has expressed support for the JAC Abeokuta 10 Kilometres Marathon Race scheduled to hold on Nov. 2.
Gbadebo gave his royal blessings to the event on Wednesday when the organisers of the race, Niilayo Sports Management Limited (NSML), presented a pioneer medal to the monarch at his Ake Palace in Abeokuta.
The paramount ruler, who lauded the organisers of the event for bringing a marathon race of such magnitude to the ancient city, expressed his readiness to ensure its success.
He, however, challenged NSML to organise a world class event in order to attract renowned long distance runners to Abeokuta.
Earlier, the Chief Executive Officer of NSML, Bukola Olopade, had disclosed that 15 countries and 46 international athletes had signified their interest to participate in the event.
He added that the race, which had been approved by the International Association of Athletics Federation, would take the participating athletes through major streets of Abeokuta.
Olopade, a former Commissioner for Youth and Sports in Ogun, further disclosed that 5,000 indigenes of the state had registered to participate in the race within three weeks of opening the race registration portal.