FG to revitalise NUGA for future athletes

The Federal Government has said that it is set to revive the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA), to serve as a breeding ground for the nation’s future athletes.

The Chairman of National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, disclosed this while receiving the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA) President, Bawa Mohammed, on courtesy call in his office at the Moshood Abiola International Stadium in Abuja.

Addressing the issue of funding, Dikko proposed the creation of a National Sports Commission Marketing Board to help sports federations secure private sector support.

Dikko stressed that collaboration with key stakeholders like NUGA would give him the required leverage to rejuvenate primary and secondary school sports in line with his vision of laying a solid foundation for sports development from the grassroots.

He explained further that part of the plan for the revival of NUGA is to establish centres of excellence in six universities across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones, providing the necessary infrastructure and support for student-athletes.

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He said: “Would equip the selected universities with the basic requirements in terms of infrastructure and other equipment to breed and groom our future athletes.

“The Commission aims to treat sports as a national asset, and as such, it would lay more emphasis on athlete development, setting the right structure and framework to ensure a solid sports economy, over and above immediate competition results.”

In a statement by the NSC’s Director of Information and Public Relations, Mrs. Kehinde Ajayi, calls on sports federations to strive to demonstrate appreciable level of developmental progress before participating in international tournaments.

He then called on NUGA to come up with a detailed partnership proposal with the Commission, outlining its plans and objectives in alignment with the Commission’s vision.

Earlier, NUGA President Bawa Mohammed, congratulated Dikko on his new role and expressed NUGA’s desire for collaboration, noting that both organisations share common visions.

He explained that the two organisations share common visions even as he believes that most of NUGA’s aspirations would find expression in the Commission’s set objectives.

He expressed the hope that the proposed collaboration would work towards producing talented athletes for the country, highlighting that 35% of medals at the recent Olympics were won by university students globally.