‘Maybe The Likes of Olise, Saka and Eze Would Be Playing for Nigeria Today’: NSC Moves to Stop Losing Nigerian Talents to Foreign Countries
The Federal Government has pledged stronger support for Nigerian athletes in the diaspora as the National Sports Commission (NSC) moves to create more opportunities for talents of Nigerian descent to represent the country internationally.
The commitment was made during the maiden multi-sport event organised by the Nigeria Diaspora Talents Development Committee at the Hertfordshire Games Village in the United Kingdom. NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko commended the athletes who had chosen to represent Nigeria, assuring them that the Commission would work to provide the necessary support and environment for them to succeed.
‘I commend you for the sacrifice you have made to feature for Nigeria. Whether you are in the diaspora or at home, as long as you are a Nigerian, you are eligible to play for Nigeria and we are here to provide the enablers for you to succeed,’ Dikko said.
‘We are committed to doing our best to ensure that our talents are not lost to foreign countries anymore. If we had done what we are doing now long ago, maybe the likes of Michael Olise, Bukayo Saka and Eberechi Eze would be playing for Nigeria today.’
Dikko pointed to Morocco’s recent success as an example of the benefits of effectively harnessing diaspora talent. He noted that Morocco’s triumphs at youth level and their current World Cup success had been significantly driven by players born or developed outside the country.
The NSC Chairman said the diaspora programme formed part of the Commission’s wider grassroots sports development strategy.
He revealed that the Commission had introduced Invited Junior Athletes as the 38th state at the National Sports Festival and was now developing an Invited Diaspora Athletes programme for the Intermediate Games.
‘People will say that Nigeria has over 200 million population, so why are we doing this? But we need as many talents as possible from different pools and from past experiences, we have identified the diaspora as a massive catchment area,’ he added.
Chairman of the Nigeria Diaspora Talents Development Committee, Dr Tunde Adelakun, thanked the NSC for supporting the initiative, saying the programme would help Nigeria identify and develop the vast pool of talents of Nigerian descent around the world.
The event was attended by Nigeria’s only individual Olympic gold medallist, Chioma Ajunwa, former D’Tigress captain and NDTDC Vice-Chairman Dr Sarah Ogoke, seven-time Olympian Funke Oshonaike, and former Super Eagles players Seyi Olofinjana and Carl Ikeme. The sports legends offered guidance to the young athletes on how to build successful international careers.
The multi-sport event featured activities in netball, football, golf, table tennis, taekwondo and basketball. In netball, the Team Nigeria Diaspora junior team, the Junior Hawks, defeated Pakistan 33-13, while the Team Nigeria Diaspora basketball team recorded a 62-47 victory over a Hatfield selected side.
