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All posts by Aderonke Ojediran

Sport

Paying lip-service to grassroots football development has to stop, Omokaro warns

Lip-service

By Aderonke Ojediran

Lagos, Feb. 10 (NAN) A former national football team left full-back, Bright Omokaro, on Monday in Lagos appealed to relevant authorities to make conscious efforts towards genuine a grassroots development in the sport.

The ex-international told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) this was now more than necessary in view of the unpredictable performances of senior national teams at international competitions in recent times.

The former defender of the defunct Abiola Babes FC of Abeokuta and the old Green Eagles said the situation was more worrisome in view of the possible long-term effect.

“As long as we keep ignoring the grassroots, even if a Pep Gardiola is our coach, it won’t matter. Often times we don’t follow through on our plans.

“Check on all countries that are performing greatly now, and you will discover that they have a solid grassroots programme and they followed it through. That’s dedication,” he said.

On how handlers and sponsors of school sports competitions can be groomed into senior national teams, Omokaro said a lot was dependent on commitment from sports managers.

“Most people don’t get it. I strongly believe that the partnership between the Nigerian school sports body should be solid, because majority of us were discovered through this medium.

“Often times we (in Nigeria) misplace what our priorities should be, and this has affected every sector in this country.

“Even when talented players are identified, someone somewhere is thinking about how he or she can dubiously manipulate that.

“And, this is everywhere in our country, not only in sports. We don’t want to put in the work, but we want the glory.

“Most clubs in Europe and the like have feeder teams. So, we should ask ourselves `how are our teams faring in our domestic league?’

“All talk and no action will get us nowhere. There’s no need for any congress, what we need to do to be at par with our foreign counterparts we all know.

“Are we committed enough? Can we shun corruption and nepotism?” he said.(NAN)

OAF/KOO/OLAL

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(Edited by Kevin Okunzuwa and Olawale Alabi)

General news

20m students for Maltina School Games

20m students for Maltina School Games

Games
By Aderonke Ojediran
Lagos, Jan. 31, 2020 (NAN) About 20 million students across 36 states of the federation are expected to participate in the Maltina School Games kicking off with registration of competing schools on Monday.
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the track and field competition for secondary schools was being organised by Nigerian Breweries (NB) plc and Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF).
NAN reports that local government preliminaries will hold from
February 17 to February 21, while state preliminaries will take place from February 21 to February 28, while the finals will take place in Lagos from March 9 to March 13.
Organizers of the championship said that the contest would help develop young talents and build synergy amongst students and schools.
NB’s Managing Director, Jordi Borrut Bel, told journalists in Lagos on Friday that the competition would focus on  children’s wellbeing as top priority in accordance with the United Nations goal.
“With over 20 million students in secondary schools across Nigeria, it is evident how much of an impact an initiative such as the Maltina School Games will have.
“Many studies have shown that young people who engage in physical activities and exercise are happier, as our slogan says we share happiness,” he said.
Sade Morgan, NB Corporate Affairs Director, said the games was Maltina’s Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) focusing on raising a generation of future champions.
“Learning is not just in the classroom, learning outside the classroom is equally important.
“We couldn’t have done this alone without school sports federation, we can’t overemphasize the fact that we have lots of talents in this country, especially in tracks and fields.
” Today, we take this bold step to ensure that we give these children the opportunity and also to mentor them as we should to help them focus,” she said.
Falilat Ogunkoya, an Olympian and member of the games panel, appealed to the organizers to ensure the competition was  not a one-off event.
“This was how I was discovered, as a young child, I see myself in these children, with sports, their lives can be changed forever for good.
“I want to appeal that this competition is sustained, it shouldn’t be a one-off, the continuity of this programme lies in the hands of this brand, please sustain this great initiative.
“Rarely do children involved in sports have time to engage in all sorts of social vices,” she said.
Olabisi Joseph, President of NSSF, commended Maltina for the foresight.
“It’s been a while since we had a brand that is interested in tracks and fields and honestly its a breath of fresh air for us: thank you Maltina, thank you Nigerian Breweries.
“We know that there is need to keep this fire burning, we need to give these children something to look up to and also focus on their studies,” she said. (NAN)
OAF/PD/WOJ
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Edited by Philip Dzeremo/Wale Ojetimi
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