Lagos – Oladimeji Kamiludeen, the Technical Director, Nigeria Deaf Football Association has urged the Federal Government to revive the annual Deaf Challenge Cup to help identify talented deaf athletes.
Kamiludeen told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos on Tuesday that it was unfortunate that the competition no longer held due to lack of sponsors.
He, therefore, called on corporate bodies to invest in the championship to encourage the deaf to participate in the tournament.
“We cannot have deaf league in Nigeria at the moment because our league itself has not gotten to the level we are expecting.
“The only thing I want the Federal Government to do is this; the National Sports Commission must integrate football for the deaf in the programme of the National Sports Festival.
“Again we have Deaf Challenge Cup we are playing every year but support and sponsorship have been very difficult to get.
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“So I want the corporate bodies to try and support us, so that we can continue with the Deaf Challenge Cup, because we have been in the fifth or sixth edition and we stopped it about three years back.
“And this is part of something that can encourage the deaf because some of them are talented.
“I have not been receiving salary for the past year 10 years, but I feel I should encourage myself.’’
He added that the inclusion of football for the deaf in the National Sports Festival will offer more opportunities for the sport to develop further and give the athletes a sense of belonging. (NAN)
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