The Ministry of Sports and Youth Development was created on August 8th, 2003 by the Administration of His Excellency, Dr. Abubakar Bukola Saraki. The Ministry has three Directorates of which two are professional. The directorates are as follows:

• Directorate of Youth Development
• Directorate of Sports Department
• Personnel, Finance and Supply

Roles and Responsibilities of the Departments in the Ministry

Directorate of Youth 

• Coordinate youth related activities
• Formulates and executes policies of youth matters;

Directorate of Sports

• Coordinates Sports related activities;
• Formulates and executes sports policies;
• Responsible on matters relating to sports management, participation and development in the state.

The parastatals under the Ministry are as follows:

• Kwara State Sports Council
• Kwara United Football Club

Achievements

There is no gainsaying the fact that spectacular achievements have been recorded in the area of sports and youth development under the administration of Governor Abubakar Bukola Saraki in the last seven years.

The Administration from the onset realised the need to change the orientation of youths from political thuggery, crimes and cultism, which characterised the state in the past years, to that of positive contributions towards sport development, nation building and other positive, noble activities.

In pace-setting steps in the field of sport, the Kwara State Government, under the soccer-loving Governor established the first football college in Nigeria - the Kwara Football Academy, in the Kwara Stadium Complex. The Spirit behind the Football College is to train and produce future football stars.

As part of the bold efforts to re-orientate the youths and empower them appropriately, many youth empowerment programmes were put in place. These include the Bee-Keeping and honey production programme in which hundreds of youths benefited; Farm training programme established at Malete, Moro Local Government Area where graduates are being trained to become self-employed after graduation.

In continuation of the Youth Empowernment programme, the State Government established GSM Kiosks for over 450 people mostly youths and from reports, this step has gone a long in reducing the level of pverty especially among the youths.

As part of government-private sector co-operation, the Dangote Flour Mills and Tuyil Pharmaceutical employed hundreds of youth to enable them earn something to keep body and soul together. In addition, over 5000 people benefited from the motocycle and keke NAPEP distribution scheme.

This youth friendly administration also early in its life, as a matter of deliberate policy, gave moral and financial support to the National Youth Service Scheme through various measures. These include the prompt payment of the yearly statutory subvention in addition to various assistance to the NYSC during orientation and passing out ceremonies. It also sank four motorised boreholes at the NYSC Orientation Camp, at Yikpata, to alleviate the perenial water shortage being faced by Youth Corpers over the years.

Kwara Football Academy was established by the Administration of Governor Bukola Saraki to give birth to new generation of Footballers that will become future world stars

Friendly match between the Kwara Football Academy students and the Nigeria Golden Eaglet at the School's Football pitch

Governor Bukola Saraki of Kwara State, Issa Hayatou, President of the Confederation of African Football (Left), Clement Westerhof (Right)and other dignitaries in a group photograph with some students of Kwara Football Academy

Football coach Jose Mourinho exchanges gifts with Governor Bukola Saraki on the occasion of a visit by the coach to the Kwara Football Academy