Lagos – Pius Asaba, a former Secretary of the Nigeria Amputee Football Federation (NAFF) on Saturday said that the federation was going through a lull, in spite of persistent calls for activities.
Asaba told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos that the present state of the sport had compelled two national team players to relocate abroad, for greener pastures.
“I feel pained at the state of amputee football in the country for over three years now.
“There is no achievable programme for players and officials, and the federation is obviously in jeopardy.
“The interest of the players that should be paramount is being treated with laxity, and even the football fans, who are supposed to partner with the sport, have lost interest.
“As it stands now, two players, Bamgbopa Alaba is playing with Lampart of Warszawa Club in Poland, while Oyeleke Olalekan is with Istanbul Ozurluler, Kulubu in Tokyo.
“So, in case things continue like this, and we keep on losing our players to foreign clubs, where is the future of amputee football in Nigeria,’’ he asked.
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He said that programmes were usually proposed and spelt out in the body’s annual activities chart, but that it was always difficult to implement, as a result of lack of sponsorship.
“The activities in the programmes are just there to fulfil all righteousness, because they are not executed, thus leaving a negative impression on the federation,’’ he said.
According to him, members of the body should commit their money, and not to depend solely on the National Sports Commission (NSC) to provide funds before programmes can be organised.
“It is the commitment of the board members to hold events that will attract sponsors even if money is not forthcoming from the NSC as at when due,’’ he said.
Meanwhile, Victor Anusa, Secretary of NAFF, told NAN that the federation had outlined programmes for the year, and has set up a sponsorship committee to attract support from the public.
Anusa, who acknowledged poor execution of the proposed events, said that plans were in progress by the body to organise a refresher course and a national championship, in the second quarter of the year.
“We are working to make sure that our sport becomes vibrant; our marketing committee has approached individuals, non-governmental organisations, private and public sectors for sponsorship.
“In spite of the challenges we are having in the sponsorship drive, owing to situation of things in the country now, a national programme is coming up soon,’’ he said.
Anusa urged amputee footballers and coaches to continue training, while pleading with ex-footballers, corporate bodies and non-governmental organisations to support its programmes. (NAN)