By Modupe Oremule
Lagos – Cecilia Arinye, the Director of Sports, University of Lagos (UNILAG), says that for athletes to find relevance after sporting career they need to acquire formal education.
Arinye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos that it was necessary for young athletes to combine sports with education.
“This worked for me, my zeal to move to the height of Director of Sports and an international table tennis umpire books down to education.
“To get to that level, you have to write international examination.
“That is what I tell the young players that they have to marry sport and education because at the end of their playing days, they will miss all the adoration.
“I wanted to still find relevance in my sport and I thought I needed to acquire more knowledge in officiating,’’ she said.
She also appealed to Nigerians to invest in sport officials, adding that without officials, matches would not hold,” she added.
NAN reports that Arinye is an International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) Blue-badge umpire.