Sports Minister, Enoh calls on corporate entities and individuals to invest more in Nigerian sports

Senator John Owan Enoh, the Minister of Sports Development has further called upon both corporate entities and individuals to invest more in Nigerian sports, emphasizing that such investments are vital for the sustained growth and success of the sport in the country.

‘The unfortunate recent issue with the DTigers of Nigeria again exposes the underbelly that belies Nigerian sports,’ Senator Enoh stated. ‘Funding has remained a challenge over the years. Now we have the National Sports Industry Policy that is galvanizing us to think of sports as a business, and not leisure. We must find a way to attract the private sector and corporate organizations to be interested in sports. Thus, we must address the fundamentals of our sports, as well as the administration, because the Government cannot do it all alone.’

‘We are looking at some partnerships and what other countries are doing. There is the popular example of the Sports Lottery Trust Fund in Great Britain, and other countries. We are looking at the lottery trust fund in Nigeria and how it works around the parameter of sports funding. The Ministry is coming up with funding models that will make our sports funding more sustainable.’

The Minister stated that the challenge of funding affects preparations, and performance, as in the case of DTigers, but the Ministry will work with sports federations to make this experience a thing of the past in the history of Nigerian sports.