Coach Appeals For Adequate Funding Of NIS

An official of the National Institute for Sports (NIS), Jimmy Adeniyi has appealed to the federal government to increase funding of the institute to enhance its capacity.

Adeniyi, who is the Head of Coaching and Training Department of the institute, made the appeal an interview with newsmen in Lagos on Wednesday.

He said that adequate funding would help to rehabilitate the Institute’s dilapidated facilities and enhance the capacity of members of staff in their areas of specialisation.

Adeniyi said that the institute, which was the nation’s citadel for sports education, should be given urgent attention.

“The new government should set up a think- tank for sport development in Nigeria; the new government should look inward into NIS; the new government should take the bull by the horn.

“National Institute for Sports should be adequately funded, we want more equipment, we want more facilities, we want state of the art equipment and our staff should be trained and retrained.

“Lecturers in NIS should be sent on courses, coaches should be sent on courses. Let them be abreast on recent happenings in their areas of specialiasation and the government should inject more funds.’’

The coach also advised the government to make sports and physical education a compulsory subject in primary and secondary schools in the country.

Adeniyi said that the policy would encourage mass participation in sports which, in turn, would produce budding talents for the nation.

“There should be mass participation in sports for everybody in the country, sports or physical and health education should be made compulsory in all primary and secondary schools, should be made a compulsory subject.

“In fact, they should say whoever doesn’t pass physical and health education should not have a WAEC certificate once that is done, people will be interested, we will catch them young from the primary and the secondary school.

“It is when we do all these that we can excel in sports, it is when we do this that people will live long, it will improve the life span of people.

“It is when government does this that will build a healthy and active nation.’’