‘Total overhaul not enough for revival of sports’
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The Cross River Handball Coach, Achibong Achibong, says the presidential directive for the overhaul of sports sector in the country is not enough to address the problems.
Achibong told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Friday that the failure of Nigerian athletes at the London 2012 Olympics was due to poor preparations.According to him, the Federal government’s decision is not bad but we all know that the problem is inadequate preparation.
``Whether we overhaul the entire sports industry or not, lack of early preparation remains the problem,’’ he said.
Achibong said that the country should forget about the financial implications of preparing athletes for four years ahead of every Olympics and start to get ready for the 2016 Games.
``We should begin preparations for the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, now by organising competitions for our athletes rather than looking for whom to blame.’’
He called on the sports authorities to borrow a leaf from the ongoing Comprehensive Sports Development Programme in Cross River, adding that sports should be taken as a business in Nigeria.
``With the programme currently running in selected primary and secondary schools, I am sure that in the next few years the state will produce the best athletes.’’
He said that the State Government was providing adequate funding to cater for the children in the programme.
``The government buys books for them and also has procured state-of-the-art equipment for various sports to ensure a mixture of sports and academics.
``I believe that if the sports authorities in Nigeria can have such a programme adequately funded, in a few years we will definitely be somewhere.’’
The coach also called for the appointment of seasoned sports administrators to head the sports federations.
It will be recalled that following the poor performance of Team Nigeria to the London 2012 Olympic Games, President Goodluck Jonathan, directed a total overhaul of the sports. (NAN)
Articles
‘Total overhaul not enough for revival of sports’
Category: Sports Written by - Hits: 667
The Cross River Handball Coach, Achibong Achibong, says the presidential directive for the overhaul of sports sector in the country is not enough to address the problems.
Achibong told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Calabar on Friday that the failure of Nigerian athletes at the London 2012 Olympics was due to poor preparations.According to him, the Federal government’s decision is not bad but we all know that the problem is inadequate preparation.
``Whether we overhaul the entire sports industry or not, lack of early preparation remains the problem,’’ he said.
Achibong said that the country should forget about the financial implications of preparing athletes for four years ahead of every Olympics and start to get ready for the 2016 Games.
``We should begin preparations for the next Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, now by organising competitions for our athletes rather than looking for whom to blame.’’
He called on the sports authorities to borrow a leaf from the ongoing Comprehensive Sports Development Programme in Cross River, adding that sports should be taken as a business in Nigeria.
``With the programme currently running in selected primary and secondary schools, I am sure that in the next few years the state will produce the best athletes.’’
He said that the State Government was providing adequate funding to cater for the children in the programme.
``The government buys books for them and also has procured state-of-the-art equipment for various sports to ensure a mixture of sports and academics.
``I believe that if the sports authorities in Nigeria can have such a programme adequately funded, in a few years we will definitely be somewhere.’’
The coach also called for the appointment of seasoned sports administrators to head the sports federations.
It will be recalled that following the poor performance of Team Nigeria to the London 2012 Olympic Games, President Goodluck Jonathan, directed a total overhaul of the sports. (NAN)