Former African Table Tennis Champion seeks decentralisation of sports development

By Olayinka Owolewa

Sports

Ilorin, March 10, 2020 (NAN) A former African Table Tennis Champion, Kasali Lasisi, has called for the decentralisation of sports development, with the introduction of mini sports development centres across the 16 local government areas of Kwara.

The ex-Kwara Table Tennis Coach said this in an interview with newsmen in Ilorin on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that Lasisi was African Table Tennis champion in 1976.

He said the decentralisation of sports in the state, if done will result to a move which, he says, will not only assist in the discovery of new talents, but will create jobs.

Lasisi however commended Gov. AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq of Kwara, for setting mercenaries in motion for the staging of the state’s 7th Sports Festival, adding that the event has opened new sports development doors for the state and Nigeria.

While analysing the situation, Coach Lasisi described AbdulRahzaq as a sports loving governor who is very much interested in developing sports, going by the way he approved the staging of the festival that was last held 15 years ago.

“Other events which happened before and after the festival in the state have shown that more development will be witnessed in the sector during his tenure.

“The Governor did not only support the Games financially, he was part of the show, as he was always present at the stadium to watch the games. That was a good one from him,” he said.

Coach Lasisi however said that more efforts need to be invested in future events, to allow for the discovery of new talents from the nooks and crannies of the state.

According to him, “the way the festival was organised doesn’t give room for new discoveries, maybe because of the timing. It’s still all the major athletes that we have known that competed against each other in the colours of different local government Areas”.

“The only good aspect was the legacy that the Governor laid, that of unity and togetherness, and the promotion of culture, especially considering the fact that we have not had that opportunity for the past 15 years,” he added.

He appealed to the government to release funds for the Sports Council for preparations for the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Benin, tagged “Edo 2020”. (NAN)

OOH/MST

Edited by Muhammad Suleiman Tola