‘Only Sports Federations with concrete and sustainable developmental approach would receive approvals/funding support for international tournaments,’ says NSC Chairman, Dikko
National Sports Commission Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko says only Sports Federations with a concrete and sustainable developmental approach would receive approvals/funding support to participate in international tournaments.
Dikko stated this when he received a delegation from the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) on Tuesday in his office in Abuja.
“Any Sports Federation that doesn’t show plan of development, we will not listen to them when they come up seeking support for tournaments. They must show proof of their plans to develop the sport from grassroots”, he warned.
Dikko also stated that the era of planning for the Olympics just months to the event should belong to the past and says such haphazard planning amounts to embarking on “sports tourism”.
‘We cannot just wake up and start planning for the Olympics. To me, that is sports tourism. We have to have long-term projects where we will target specific athletes and sports. It (planning for 2028 Olympics) has to start today not in 2028,’ said the NSC Chairman.
Dikko says funding of sports will be intensified to achieve laudable goals.
‘If you get the funding right, eighty to ninety percent of the problems in sports are solved. So we will vigorously pursue the sports economy to fast-track sports development. So we will make the sector viable to attract the necessary funds,’ he added.
