By Olusegun Folarin
The National Sports Commission, NSC, has announced a partnership with the Ministry of Education to revive school sports.
NSC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko stated this while speaking with journalists at the Main Organising Committee, MOC, Secretariat, Oke-Mosan, Abeokuta, at the ongoing 22nd National Sports Festival tagged Gateway Games 2024.
Describing school sports as the bedrock of Sports Development, Mallam Dikko listed part of the plans to include establishing sports programmes in primary and unity schools across all local governments, and creating universities of excellence in each geopolitical zone to support students with athletic potential.
The NSC chairman affirmed that the current administration under President Bola Tinubu had made budgetary allocations for sports federations to successfully execute their developmental programmes.
He explained that the allocations were aimed at empowering federations to intensify training programmes in preparation for upcoming major international competitions such as the African Games and the Olympic Games.
Mallam Dikko disclosed that within the national budget, provisions had been made for Elite Athletes Development and the Podium Finish Board, both tasked with identifying and nurturing new talents in line with federations’ strategies to ensure podium finishes at the Olympics and global championships.
He also attributed the successful partnership with the headline sponsor of this year’s festival to the flexible policies of the Federal Government and the conducive economic environment created, especially in the host state, Ogun.
The NSC chairman emphasized that the combination of government support and private sector engagement was essential to Nigeria’s rise on the global sporting stage.
In a remark, the Director General of the National Sports Commission, Chief Bukola Olopade, acknowledged some concerns raised by the media, assuring that they were addressed in advance.
He promised improved infrastructure and facilities in future editions of the games.
