Sports
Sports Minister, NFF Leadership Meet For Sports Dev
The Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, on Wednesday, held a strategic meeting with the leadership of the Nigerian Football Federation (NFF), at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, as part of his series of engagements with all sports federations in the nation.
The engagements with leadership of all sports federations are part of the Minister’s efforts to appraise the state of sports in the country, so as to drive a common vision of development, resuscitate, rejuvenate and reinvigorate areas that are not in tandem with its mission.
The Minister said that the Ministry will not run football or any other sports on behalf of the federations, but instead it has a responsibility to play oversight functions and ensure the best interest of the nation is represented in the operations and activities of federations.
He added that the followership, interest, popularity and excitement that football generates around the country, necessitates why careful and intentional actions must be taken for the growth of the game.
“We must be open to dissecting some of the burning issues in our football,” Senator Enoh said. “This is what this meeting is about. Where are we as a footballing nation? What are our prospects? What are the plans? This sector is one where everyone is interested and wants to know what is going on. We should address topical and trending issues such as the 10 year football master plan implementation, membership of the executive board of the NFF, the image of our league, amongst other issues. We must look at global best practices obtainable in thriving nations.
Senator Enoh remarked that all hands must be on deck for development to be fostered. He sued for all facets of NFF’s operations to thrive, including but not limited to coaches and players’ education, referees’ development, league management, national teams’ success governance statutes, etc.
“What is the development plan for the League, the players and referees? There are discussions surrounding the legislation under which the NFF operates. What needs to be done to that law to create the right consonance? What are the timelines for the implementation of the masterplan? Our overarching goal is that after these engagements, we will draw out action points that are contributive to the growth of Nigerian football,” he noted.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.
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