Sports Directors Tasked On Trado Sports Dev

A former member, Traditional Sports Federation of Nigeria (TSFN), Sunday Adeogun, has urged Directors of Sports in the states to focus on the development of indigenous sports.
Adeogun told newsmen in Lagos that efforts to enhance the popularity of native sports in the country, without grassroots support from the states, have remained fruitless.
“It will certainly be difficult to promote and sell our traditional sports outside our borders if we continue to give them second class treatment in our approaches.
“What belongs to us is ours, and the way we handle them determines how people outside our environment will take them.
“Traditional sports have a very long history, but have failed to grow due to poor grassroots programmes, “ he said.
Adeogun, also a special sports and traditional sports’ instructor at the National Institute for Sports (NISports), Lagos, urged other states of the federation to adopt the Lagos State grassroots sports development programme.
“If all states’ sports councils can send their coaches to suburbs where young people display acute skills in traditional sports and competitions are held regularly, traditional sports will gain the expected recognition.
“This will generate the much-needed publicity and awareness for the indigenous sports as many philanthropists will show interest in sponsoring competitions in traditional sports,” he said.
Adeogun noted that sponsors would not show up if the federation and state associations failed to embark on programmes that would popularise the sports before the people.
“Although, lack of sponsors has stalled the development of indigenous sports in the country, our major preoccupation should be how to showcase the sports to potential sponsors.