Lack Of Publicity, Bane Of Grassroots Sports Dev

A Handball Coach with
the Lagos State Model College, Badagry, Anthony Okoh  has expressed sadness over the poor publicity accorded grassroots sports in the country, saying it is perilous.
Okoh spoke to newsmen in Lagos against the backdrop of low publicity given to grassroots championships.
The coach who referred specifically to Lagos State Secondary Schools Handball Championships, tagged “Opeifa Cup’’ held in May complained that the competition was not given adequate publicity by the media.
According to him, the failure by the media to report grassroots sports is tantamount to killing the spirit of grassroots athletes.
He added that the development would also reduce participation of schools and grassroots clubs for grassroots sports championships in the country.
“To overcome this problem, there is the need to include grassroots’ championships in the annual programmes of every sports association.
“This should be followed up with necessary awareness in schools across the nation for massive participation,’’ he said.
Okoh said that media hype given to programmes before and particularly during grassroots competitions would go a long to increase awareness and participation.
“Such early information will guide interested schools to identify, prepare their representatives and put logistics together to ensure their participation and successful outing at such events.
“Such arrangement gives room for good turnout which will also make the championships to be more competitive and guarantee discovery of potential talents,’’ he said.
The coach added that some schools located outside the central areas needed to be carried along whenever any grassroots’ championships were to hold.
According to him, a major platform where young athletes have the opportunity to exhibit their skills must be encouraged as it will enhance sports development in schools.
He added that organisers of championships should encourage schools coming from afar to make provision for accommodation within the period of the programme.