Sports
Omotayo Wants Assembly To Pass Sports Dev Trust Fund Bill
A sports psychologist, Prof. Seun Omotayo, yesterday urged the Ogun House of Assembly to urgently pass the Sports Development Trust Fund Bill to enhance sports funding in the state.
Omotayo made the appeal at an event organised as part of the 2019 Ogun SWAN Week programme of activities in Abeokuta.
Tidesports source reports that Ogun SWAN Week is being organised by the Ogun chapter of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN). The week has as its theme “2018 National Sports Festival: The Lessons Therein’’.
“If the law is implemented, sports activities will run effectively.
“Imagine where all industries in the state are asked to contribute to the trust fund.
“Sports will naturally develop in the state,” Omotayo, who is the President of African Universities Football Union (AFSU), said.
He also suggested that the state Sports Council should be replaced with a commission. The sports psychologist also contended that it was not good that the Sports Council was still being run by the state through the Civil Service structure and not a professional structure.
He said reasons for the poor performance of the Ogun contingent at National Sports Festivals (NSFs) included non-utilisation of facilities, mode of athletes’ recruitment, poor nutrition of athletes and funding.
Speaking also, Taiwo Adeoluwa, the Secretary to the State Government (SSG), reiterated the importance of sports and youth development to the state.
He commended the athletes for striving to put Ogun in the forefront of sports participation.
“We are not where we should be in sports. So, all hands must be on deck to improve on our fortunes,” the SSG added.
England captain Harry Kane netted a hat-trick to guide Bayern Munich to an impressive victory against Stuttgart.
Kane’s goals, plus one from Kingsley Coman, helped Bayern end a three-game winless run in all competitions.
They faced a tough task against a Stuttgart side who sat back and limited their chances, leading Vincent Kompany’s side to enter the break frustrated and with the deadlock unbroken.
Bayern eventually found a way past Stuttgart’s steely defence when Kane drilled a low effort into the bottom corner from around 30 yards out after Joshua Kimmich overturned possession.
Former Nigeria goalkeeper, Dosu Joseph, is full of thanks to God after he miraculously survived another life-threatening automobile accident recent at Kara, along the Lagos-Ibadan Express Way, where a heavy-duty truck ran into his SUV.
Narrating his ordeal, the 51-year-old, who guided Nigeria to gold in the Men’s Football Tournament of the 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, broke the news in a statement on his social media handles on Friday.
“To God be the glory, another death escaped by Grace and Mercy of God. Me and my friend SM were at Enyo Filling Station after Ojodu Berger bus stop to get fuel on Wednesday, October 2, 2024, around 6 p.m. when this MACK truck fully loaded with iron, with registration number LND 470 XX, left the road and crushed my car beyond repairs. Thank God for life,” he stated.
This is the second time the soft-spoken club proprietor will cheat death by a whisker, having been involved in an accident in 1997 that ended his career at 23 and left his spinal cord in bad shape.
He helped Julius Berger win the Nigeria FA Cup in November 1997 shortly a memorable Olympic outing by keeping a clean sheet in the finals against Katsina United. The following year, he was involved in the auto along Ikorodu Road, Lagos, which not only cut his career short but also left him almost paralysed, ending his spell at Serie A club Reggiana.
The former Nigeria international, who also kept goal for Julius Berger FC, said the case has been reported to Isheri Police Station, Ogun State, where the driver is currently detained and the truck also seized.
According to him, the owner of the truck said he can’t fix the badly damaged SUV until after a year.
Ex – Super Eagles of Nigeria, Okwuchukwu Waobikeze has observed that sports development in Nigeria is going down.
According to him, grassroots sports is very important, without it, the administrators cannot get it right. So everybody should key into grassroots sports development, he said.
Waobikeze said this last Wednesday in an interview with sports journalists shortly after the Port Harcourt All Stars Independence football festival (OCTOBERFEST) at the Port Harcourt club, Rivers State.
He explained that for sports administrators to get it right, grassroots development is key. “They should be organising competition at the grassroots level to fish out the young ones for different sporting activities.
“Grassroots sports is very important so the administrators have to go back to the grassroots.
” Sports Development in Nigeria is going down we need to go back to the basics.
“Look at the just concluded Paris Olympics, Nigeria did not win any medal.
” Our football team did not even qualify for the Olympics. We are going down.
” If they should go back to the grassroots, they will get young ones in the games and talents will be developed.
” I started from school games, to youth games before playing for the national team. Now everybody wants to fly board to play professional football and a lot do not know the basics of the game.
” A lot of people did not know the little things about the game, they just want to play. It is not done so,” Waobikeze stated.
Kiadum Edookor