Sports
Association Decries Lack Of Volleyball Sponsorship
The Chairman, Nigeria
Volleyball Referees Association (NVRA), Mr Anthony Oresegun, said yesterday that the lack of sponsors for volleyball tournaments was responsible for the under-development of referees.
Oresegun said in an interview with Tidesports in Abuja that Nigeria lacked tournaments that could have helped the referees to enhance their knowledge.
“The challenges are we lack championships in Nigeria; now if we have sponsors, we will be bringing in referees and they will be updating themselves. Even if you train day in day out and there are no championships, you cannot progress.
“But, if we have championships, that is where you test your skill; when you are within yourself, reading, seeing it on the television or elsewhere, that does not make you to progress; but, when you practice what you have read, seen and thought, then the confidence will be there.”
He said though plans were on for the training of referees, the association still needed funds for the training.
“The plans are in the pipeline; we are looking for sponsors to train referees, because it is not easy to train referees, at least, you will need 1.5 million naira to train a set of indoor referees because the instructors that will come, you must accommodate them.
“Even the people that have trained, they need to retrain themselves. After the training, the certificate does not do the job; it is you as an individual; and once you let yourself to be obsolete, you will not be able to perform.”
According to Oresegun, the association is working towards improving female participation because the country has only one female international badge referee.
“Considering the fact that the Federation of International Volleyball (FIVB) is putting up programmes to encourage female participation internationally, we are thinking of how to get girls of good age.
“This is because we have only one female international badge referee, who got her badge about three weeks ago. Three other ones will soon have their international matches, and they will be assessed hoping to get their badges too.
“For now, we have the prospect of having eight international referees, can you compare that with Togo which have about six international referees, Egypt have about 100? It is not because they are good but because they have sponsors. But in Nigeria here, you have to do it yourself.’’
The referee, however, expressed optimism that with time, things would get better, saying: “I believe with time, we will get there because we are trying to get some states to sponsor some of our programmes for this year.
“It is not something we can just do on our own. We are trying to get Ondo, Lagos, Akwa Ibom and Kaduna states who are volleyball-playing states to support us. I assure you that before our tenure runs out, we will try and put some things in place.”
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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