LAGOS – Some sports stakeholders on Friday called for reversal of the decision of National Sports Commission (NSC) to make the National Sports Festival (NSF) open to all Nigerian athletes.
In interviews with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos, the stakeholders said that the festival should be aimed at grooming young talents to stardom.
NAN reports that the biennial sports festival, which is Nigeria’s biggest sports programme, had been reserved for home-based athletes only.
The NSC decided to make it open to all categories of athletes after the 2012 edition held in Lagos in 2012.
The 2014 edition is scheduled to hold in Calabar from Nov. 23 to Dec. 3.
A former national long jumper, Olu Sule, told NAN that a reversal to the `old fashion’ would be more beneficial.
“Before now, sports councils and associations used the competition to groom young athletes to stardom.
“Opening-up of the festival to all and sundry will erode its cardinal objective,” Sule said.
He called on the NSC to reverse the decision to facilitate identification of young and reliable talents.
Segun Omodunni, the Chairman of the Nigeria Association of Athletics Technical Officials (NAATO), Lagos State Chapter, said that there would be an influx of international athletes in the 2014 edition.
According to him, the competition may be for the highest bidder, as some states would do their best to woo foreign-based athletes to be able to win.
“Information we are getting is that states are scrabbling for star athletes at the detriment of the local ones to be able to win,’’ he said.
He said that the demerits of the decision were numerous with local athletes at the receiving end.
He added that it could retard the development of Nigeria’s sports at the grassroots.
A 100 and 200 metres sprinter, Briggs Tamunotonne, told NAN that making the festival open might result in stiff competition between elite athletes and upcoming ones.
He appealed to sports councils of states to make welfare of local athletes a top priority to motivate them to do their best. [eap_ad_1] “If proper attention is given to us, home-based athletes, we can match the returning athletes’ skill-for-skill,” Tamunotonne said.
However, Mary Onyeali-Omagbemi, an ex-Olympian and Special Adviser to the Director-General of NSC, said that the festival should not be just for grassroots sports development.
“National Sports Festival should not be seen as a grassroots sports programme, but a major national sports competition, which should have all Nigeria’s top athletes in attendance.
“Local and states government should be concerned about discovery of talents in their areas; it is not at the national sports festival that we should be talking about discovery of talents,’’ she said.(NAN)
[eap_ad_4]