Two former captains of Nigeria’s football national team, Austin ‘Jay Jay’ Okocha and Nwankwo Kanu (Papilo) have been included in a roll call of 41 sports stars to help the Federal Ministry of Youth & Sports Development spread awareness about the dangers of coronavirus, megasportsarena.com reports.

Kanu and Okocha will join former sprinter, Mary Onyali, table tennis ace, Funke Osinaike, and taekwondo icon, Chika Chukuwumerije in the campaign that is part of efforts put in place by the sports minister, Sunday Dare to stem the spread of COVID-19 in Nigeria.

A press release by the minister’s media office disclosed that other iconic sports stars in the large scale project include Blessing Okagbare, Tobi Amusan, Eniefiok Udo-Obong, Segun Odegbami, Samson Siasia, and Ahmed Musa, as well as the president of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Engineer Ahmed Gumel among others.

The statement added that Dare has teamed up with the sports icons and officials in a massive awareness campaign to educate Nigerians and other residents in the country on keeping safe during the lockdown period, as the world fights the spread of the dreaded coronavirus.

It further disclosed that the program initiated by Dare will be anchored and projected by all 41 former and current international athletes in athletics, badminton, boxing, football, handball, judo, para-athletics, powerlifting, para-rowing, shooting, table tennis, taekwondo, wrestling, and volleyball, with a view to enlightening Nigerians about the gains of social distancing, isolation and stay at home while the lockdown lasts on account of COVID-19.

The press release concluded: “The objective of the campaign by the FMYSD is to enlighten the public about the virus, what to do to contain the spread and to keep hope alive. The campaign which has gone viral has received wide acclaim across the wide spectrum of the sports terrain.”