Odizor Advises Ministry On Sports Dev

Nigeria’s most successful tennis player, Nduka Odizor, has appealed to the Ministry of Youths and Sports to have an implementable blueprint for sports development in the country.
Odizor, who reached his highest Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) singles of world number 52 ranking in June 1984, said that there were not enough implementable sports programmes in Nigeria.
“Over the years it is only written down documents that we follow, it is high time we stopped that.
“What we need now are theories and ideas that will work. Enough of these thoughts written down that are never implemented,’’ he said.
Odizor, who is fondly called the “Duke’’ by his fans, said that athletes were suffering from “this setback because we are behind other countries that we started with in sports.
“The ministry has more work to do because it is in charge of sports development.
“From the way I see it, the ministry should seek opinions from stakeholders and also be open to advice from knowledgeable sports managers’’.
He was quick to note that positioning of ex-sportsmen and women in sports administration would be of great importance in getting the nation’s sports on the right path.
“If we can bring in experienced hands that had been competing in their fields to sport administration, it will be a lot easier.
“This will be so because they had once been in the shoes of the current athletes and know how to cater for them.
“Their past experiences will be used to ensure that athletes get the best treatment because it’s when the athletes are well taken care of that the best can be got from them,’’ he said.
Odizor decried the state of sports facilities at the national stadia.
“I am not happy with how the stadia are. They have been undermanaged and to the detriment of the athletes who are supposed to be training in them.
“Athletes need good and functional facilities to aid their training,’’ the ex-international player said.