Sports
Chairman Bemoans Lack Of Squash Facilities
A former Chairman of the Lagos State Squash Association, Edward Omotesho, has blamed the slow development of the sport in the country on lack of facilities.
He told Tidesports that if facilities for the sport were developed across the country, squash would grow.
According to him, “we have very few squash courts nationwide, which makes it difficult to discover and groom talents who could help promote the sport.
“The major factor impeding the growth of squash in the country is the dearth of playing courts,” he said.
Omotesho also took pains to debunk the claim that squash was an elitist vocation.
“Agreed that elite also engage in the sport, it is still wrong to say that it is meant for the elite alone,’’ he said.
In a bid to find a temporary solution to the dearth of facilities, the former chairman urged the government to partner with private clubs that had such facilities as a stop-gap measure.
He appealed to the clubs to take up the challenge of using their squash facilities to promote the sport, for the benefit of all.
“If the government can partner with sports clubs that have such facilities, then competitions can be organised for budding talents to sharpen their competitive edge,’’ he added.
Iwobi spoke to Tidesports source ahead of Nigeria’s crunch playoff semi-final against Gabon on Thursday, November 13, in Rabat, Morocco.
The 28-year-old was reacting to Nigeria’s shaky World Cup qualifying campaign that saw the Eagles finish second in Group C behind South Africa’s Bafana Bafana.
“We’ve managed to rescue ourselves from the dead,” Iwobi told Tidesports source.
We know we have the players and the abilities to compete against any other country in the world.”
The Fulham star pointed to Nigeria’s star power, highlighting African Footballer of the Year winners Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen as proof of the squad’s quality.
“We have last year’s African best player (Ademola Lookman), the year before that (Victor Osimhen),” he said.
“It’ll be a shame if we don’t make it, but we have a lot of confidence. We just have to prove it to ourselves.”
Nigeria’s path to the United States, Canada and Mexico has been turbulent, with two coaches departing during the early stages of qualifying before Éric Chelle steadied the ship to steer the Super Eagles into November’s CAF playoffs.
Four nations from the continent – Nigeria, Cameroon, DR Congo and Gabon – will vie for a solitary spot to compete in next March’s inter-confederation playoffs, with a view to joining the already nine qualified African nations at the Finals.
It would mark Iwobi’s second appearance at the World Cup Finals and the Super Eagles’ first since the 2018 edition of the competition.
Back then, Iwobi featured in all three games as Nigeria was knocked out in the group stage.
The Chief Executive Officer(CEO) and Publisher of the Atlantic Bell Online medium, Mr. Celestine Ogolo has advised sports writers in Nigeria to diversify in sports writing and not to concentrate on football reporting alone.
The Deputy National President of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) Mr. Bonny Nyong has expressed commitment to support sports development and move SWAN forward.
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