Lagos – Folabi Awojobi, a former national hockey player, has urged stakeholders in the game to be more committed to the development of the sport.
Awojobi gave the advice in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday in Lagos.
He said the commitment by stakeholders would take the game to its rightful place in the nation’s sports hierarchy.
“The truth is that hockey nowadays is not what it should be because a lot of people nowadays are into hockey because of what they can get from it, so there is no dedication.
“And because once you don’t have dedication in something you don’t get the best out of the guys.
“In my days, when I was playing hockey, it was all about the game, there wasn’t money in hockey.
“Hockey wasn’t like football where you have so much money.
“So, you play the sport because of the passion you had for it and that’s what is missing today.
“Because people have taken the hockey game in a different dimension and that is why hockey is not thriving the way it should thrive.’’
He stressed the need for stakeholders to do the needful to sustain the game of hockey.
Awojobi, who also plied his trade with Union Bank Hockey in his active days, urged the Nigeria Hockey Federation (NHF) to draw-up programmes that would enhance the profile of the sport. (NAN)