By Ijeoma Nwankpa, Abuja Nigeria.

The Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC) , Mallam Shehu Dikko, has reiterated the Commission’s commitment towards grassroots Sports development sparked by domestic tournaments by the various Sports Federations.

According to him, this will help to keep the athletes regularly in tune and competitive while discovering fresh talents to replace ageing ones.

Speaking on the heels of an impressive performance of the Nigerian badminton team at the All Africa Senior Badminton Championship held in Douala, Cameroon, where the team finished third in the overall table with one gold and two bronze medals, Mallam Dikko pointed out that with more domestic tournaments, the sky would only be the team’s starting point.

“I must commend the badminton team for this feat. This is why we have been harping on the need for the Federations to hold constant tournaments across the country. There is no doubting the abundance of talents in the country. They only need to be harnessed. As these A-list of players are doing exploits in Cameroon, there is need to ensure that fresher talents are being discovered as well to take over from them. That is the real Sports development.

“In fact, constant domestic tournaments will keep the athletes competitive and ready for these international tournaments”, he stated.

According to him, “Victory at these international competitions is excellent but as we have been trumpeting at the Commission, we are moving from a competition-driven disposition to a development-driven one. We want to place more emphasis on the development of the Sports down to the grassroots. We want more domestic development of these Sports. We want sustained podium performances that is why we are intensifying efforts to strengthen our conveyor belt of talents.

“The news of badminton is pleasant with such performances in Douala and I must congratulate all stakeholders involved but our assignment is to also make sure that tomorrow is secured. That is the mandate given to us by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He has mandated us to develop Sports down to the grassroots and me and my DG, Hon. Bukola Olopade along with the President’s SSA on Grassroots Sports Development, Adeyinka Adeboye ‘Zulu’ have properly keyed into that mandate and driving the process with all we got .”

Dikko pointed out that considering the 2025 budget allocation for Sports Federations, the future can only be brighter for the Federations and their operations.

In his words; “there is a budget line in the 2025 budget for some funding support to the Sports Federations. The money may not be that much but it is a good starting place. It means that every year there will be provision for the Federations. We now have to task them on proper grassroots development of the Sports. We need evidence of how many domestic tournaments a Federation has organized before they can access funding for a foreign tournament”.

Mallam Dikko however applauded the badminton team for the continental exploits.

“When we preach podium performance, this is it. We want our teams to perform creditably and appear on the podium always. We were on the podium three times at the All Africa Senior Badminton Championships and we are proud of this team. As a Commission, we assure them of the necessary support to even record more podium performances in the future. Due recognition must also go to the Badminton Federation of Nigeria led by Mr. Francis Orbih for this achievement”, he concluded.

Anuoluwapo Opeyori won a fifth consecutive gold medal in the men’s singles event, while the men’s doubles and mixed doubles teams picked a bronze each.

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