Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Malam Shehu Dikko, has charged Presidents of the various National Sports Federations on the need to transform sports development in the country.
Dikko stated this on Tuesday in Abuja at a strategic meeting with Presidents and Secretaries of all the Sports Federations in the country.
He said the new vision of the NSC was to transform Nigerian sports industry into a sustainable sports economy in line with international best practices.
Dikko stressed the need for a strong synergy between the NSC and the Sports federations in taking sports to the next level.
“We believe we are all partners with the various Sports Federations, working together for the same goal — to reposition Nigerian sports.
“We came here with a clear mandate from Mr. President to get sports working again by building a sustainable sports economy.
“We can’t just measure our sports by participation in tournaments, but by its contributions to the entire economy, and that is the new mandate and direction,” Dikko said.
The NSC boss subsequently outlined a three-pillar strategy for Nigerian sports development: Reset, Refocus, and Relaunch.
“Our thinking is that competitions are basically consumption, while development is production.
“At the end of the day, we want the success of all of us to be measured by the development we put on the ground to get the sports growing and create value. Then we can move to the next level of competitions,” he said.
Dikko said plans were underway to establish a National Sports Development Fund and a National Sports Infrastructure Board through legislative Acts.
According to him, these structures are expected to provide a solid financial and infrastructural foundation to support sports development across the country.
Earlier, the Director-General of the NSC, Bukola Olopade, stressed the need for strategic reforms, emphasising the Commission’s commitment to athlete development and governance restructuring.
“One thing we have also worked on is getting a consultant to come work with the Commission. Mr Bambo Akani, Founder/CEO of Making of Champions will be our Consultant.
“He will work closely with the commission to develop a relationship with the elite athletes across all the Sports through the Elite Development and Podium Board,” Olopade said.
He also announced plans to establish a training fund for exceptional athletes, which would commence in February 2025. He explained that the fund would ensure athletes received financial support for training well ahead of major competitions.
“Once we do that, we will start paying their training funds long before a major event. The days of athletes getting training grants at competition venues are gone,” he said.
Olapade said as part of plans to improve governance, all sports federations will now have a Chief Operating Officer who would act as marketing heads to raise funds for them.
Responding on behalf of the sports federations, President of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), Musa Kida, commended the NSC’s fresh approach to sports development.
He said the sports federations would work more closely with the NSC to reposition sports in the country.
“Having listened to the remarks of both the NSC Chairman and the D-G, there is a breath of fresh air. As Federation Presidents, we are already seeing solutions coming for the country’s sports,” he said.