Abuja — The federal government has said it plans to support and export the 1,000-year-old Dambe sports, a Northern Nigeria cultural heritage.

The SA M&E and Heritage to Minister of Art, Culture and the Creative Economy, Roshan Nanayakkara, disclosed this during the Dambe Warriors SuperFight 03 held recently in Abuja.

Nanayakkara said the ministry intends to increase its support for the traditional combat sports because it is one of the few unique Nigerian art and practices.

"Dambe sport is ancient and is traditional value to the Northern Nigeria people. We want to support its export and exposure because it is one of the few unique Nigerian arts, just as you have the Japanese Sumo, we want to have Dambe on the global stage.

"All of the world needs to recognise that arts belong to the nation, that it originated from Nigeria, which exported it to influence culture all over the world," Nanayakkara said.

He added that the project is already embedded into Destination 2030 Initiative of the Ministry of Arts, Culture and the Creative Economy, which is in full support of the project that every one recognises is an experience Nigeria wants to share to the whole world to buy into it.

"Dambe is an initiative accepted all over Northern Nigeria, but we want an activity that is accepted and practiced all over Nigeria. We need to support it and take ownership for it," Nanayakkara concluded.