KFN Advises Schools Against Quack Coaches

The Kickboxing Federation of Nigeria (KFN) has advised schools to liaise with the federation before recruiting coaches, to avoid employing unqualified personnel.

The KFN Technical Director, Victor Bassey, said in a telephone interview that the advice became necessary following some charlatans parading themselves around as certified coaches.

Bassey said that the rules of the sport were always reviewed and coaches were expected to be up-to-date so that they could impart the correct techniques in their athletes.

“As upcoming athletes, they need to be nurtured in the right direction, and this has to do with the coaches who must be familiar with the modern guidelines,’’ he said.

The technical director also advised authorities of schools that have kickboxing as one of their sports to ensure that their coaches undertake refresher courses.

Bassey identified lack of sponsorship and promotion as major challenges hindering the sport’s development and, therefore, appealed to multinationals and telecommunication companies to support kickboxing.

He said the federation was proposing to hold zonal championships as a way of developing the sport at the grassroots to identify new talents.

According to him, the project has prompted the federation to go on aggressive marketing drive so as to generate funds to organise the programme in the six zones.

He said: “We need to organise competitions at the zonal level which requires financial backing, so have commenced steps to get sponsors by writing letters to cooperate organisations and philanthropists.

“Kickboxing is a medal winning sport and the talents are there, so we have to develop the sport by creating a forum for raw talents to showcase their skills and get discovered.

Bassey also appealed to states governors to sponsor open competitions in their various states, as a way of promoting the sport and supporting its development.

“The promotion of kickboxing is a collective responsibility and must not be left to the sports ministry alone, little support from individuals and the public sector will go a long way,’’ he said.