Sports administrators, others hail FG

Some sports administrators in Delta have lauded the leadership of President Bola Tinubu in the development of grassroots sports in the country.

Speaking with the newsmen on Tuesday in Warri, the administrators urged the government to sustain and expand its grassroots sports development programme.

They identified poor financing, lack of sponsorship and motivation as major challenges confronting grassroots sports development in the country.

They also called for more funding from the government at all levels, individuals and corporate organisations.

Chris Chikwe, Technical Director, Delta Sports Commission said that lack of sponsorship and motivation were key factors militating against grassroots sports development in the country.

The federal government is doing very well in terms of grassroots sports development in the country.

“I will score this administration 100 per cent because since 2023, we have been attending competitions both at the local, national and international levels,” he said.

Chikwe appealed to governments and corporate organisations to support players and athletes with the needed equipment to train with.

“Coaches at the Local Government Areas need to be motivated to produce good players and athletes. The players and athletes also need to put in their best.

“The coaches have to be well-motivated, even when they are receiving salaries from the government; they still need assistance from corporate bodies.

Coach Onome Ikrechero, CEO, Excellent Football Academy, Ughelli, Delta, said this administration had done very well in the development of grassroots sports.

Ikrechero advocated for a “rotational football development programme” to address the challenges of scouting and selection of players for age grade competitions.

“Since the beginning of this administration, there have been different football and scouting programmes across the country.

“We have seen a lot of grassroots competitions like the Chief of Naval Staff (CNS) and the Zenith Principal Cup football competitions and among others,“he said.

The coach suggested the introduction of yearly under-aged football competitions by the government in the country, aside the ones organised by individuals and corporate bodies.

“I organise grassroots football tournaments in Ughelli. I observed that it is difficult for some teams from places like Kwale, Oleh, Warri and others to move from their locations to Ughelli for the tournament.

“In some cases, about 15 players will squeeze themselves inside a mini bus while some even come with tricycles.

“Some teams may have only one good football pitch while the bad ones are used for training. Some do not even have complete jerseys for their players in a competition.

“They also contribute money to buy football while coaches also meet parents whose children are in the team to solicit for support,” he said.

He identified poor funding, sponsorship, lack of partnership and encouragement as some of the factors militating against grassroots sports development in the country.

Julius Atete, the Founder of J. Atete Football Club in Warri, who has a contrary view, said that the challenges confronting grassroots sports development were numerous.

According to him, the government is not giving the grassroots sports owners the needed support to develop the sub-sector.

“Government is killing grassroots sports development. They are not giving the support as it ought to be.

“Rather they are bringing laws that will make it difficult for private club owners to develop grassroots sports.

“We the private club owners are the ones developing grassroots sports. But the government is not helping; they are frustrating us and always want already made products.

“Government should go back to the drawing board and do the needful to ensure private club owners thrive.

“So that we can have more people that can develop grassroots sports in the state. Government cannot do it alone because they always believe in what is already made,” he said

However, Atete said the Tinubu`s administration has tried in the area of grassroots sports development at the national level.

He said that sports development needed a lot of sponsors and urged the government to roll out more grassroots competitions for the discovery of talents.