Olopade Seeks Private Sector Investment to Transform Nigerian Sports
National Sports Commission (NSC) Director-General Bukola Olopade has challenged corporate Nigeria and sports stakeholders to back their passion for sports with tangible investments, insisting that sustainable development of the sector requires transparent funding and strong partnerships.
‘Show us the money, and let’s build the legacy together,’ Olopade declared on Thursday during a strategic engagement with corporate partners, sports administrators and other stakeholders in Abuja.
He said the Commission was determined to reposition Nigerian sports as a commercially viable sector capable of generating jobs, empowering young people, promoting national unity and restoring the country’s international sporting prestige.
Olopade said the era of treating sports merely as recreation or leaving its development entirely to government was over, stressing the need to manage the sector as a business with measurable returns on investment.
He outlined three priorities for transforming Nigerian sports: commercial viability and accountability, infrastructure development and grassroots investment, and stronger public-private partnerships.
On accountability, the NSC chief said the Commission would establish transparent frameworks to ensure that every naira invested by government and corporate partners delivered measurable results across the sector.
He added that investment in infrastructure would focus on modernising sporting facilities nationwide, strengthening talent identification and development programmes, and improving athletes’ long-term welfare.
Olopade also called on private investors, corporate sponsors and international development organisations to partner with the Commission in creating sports programmes and properties capable of delivering lasting benefits beyond individual administrations.
He said institutional reforms were already underway to make the sector more attractive to investors and rebuild confidence among the Commission, sports federations and private-sector partners.
The NSC is expected to unveil its national sports infrastructure and development masterplan in the coming months as part of efforts to drive investment and establish a sustainable framework for Nigerian sports.
