Abuja -Dilichukwu Onyedimma, FCT Acting Director of Sports has urged government at all levels to give equal opportunities to all sports.
Onyedimma, who made the call in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja on Friday, said this would enable each sport to produce talented players for Nigeria.
According to her, many sports have the potential to win laurels for the nation but that dearth of facilities for the players hinders growth and development of such games.
She noted that administrators often give football attention at the detriment of other sports, saying popularity of soccer should not make other sports to suffer paucity of fund and facilities.
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“ If we focus our mind on other sports, even basketball can as well give you as much as football is giving you, but do you have that chance?
“Football fields are everywhere, you can even play on a bare ground but for basketball you have to be in a dome and have an upright and have the facilities provided for you.
“But for football some children started playing from their father’s bedroom and (when you) come outside facilities are there.
“The environment is there, materials that you play with are there.
“But if you want to play basketball how many people are interested in playing basketball with you?
“How many people are interested in playing volleyball with you? That is the problem.
“If we create equal opportunities for all the sports they will give you the same result.
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The acting director explained that star players in football are paid huge sums of money coupled with global awareness about soccer.
“ Through football you can earn your pay, though it’s a team game and remember you have to establish yourself.
“But you need other people in the field to bring out the best in you, and once you have been identified you start to earn big money.
“So people talk of football because of what Europe has made football to be.
“ Even some parents have started encouraging their children to play football when they are not supposed to play the game.
“They will tell them to go and learn the game because from this, you can make money, a lot of stars we have in Nigeria made it through football.
“It looks as if football is the in-thing because of the money involved,’’ she said.
Onyedimma also added that no sport is greater than the other when given the required platform to excel.
According to her, you can also achieve stardom through other sports.
“I do not think that any sport is greater than the other.
“But the difference is that, Europe has made football to gain world recognition,’’ she said. (NAN)