Chief Executive Officer / Managing Director of Q and N Sports Development Ltd, Prince Adewale Adegbite, has said sports, not academics alone, can secure a brighter future for Nigerian youths.

Adegbite, who made this assertion at the grand finale of Waves of Champions Football Tournament 2026 held at the Gateway International Stadium, stressed that sports has the potential to transform the country by discovering young talents, reducing youth unemployment and crime, and creating opportunities for them to excel globally.

He lamented Nigeria’s poor representation at the last Olympic Games, saying it exposed the urgent need for grassroots sports development and talent discovery across the country.

He said it was concerning that a country with a population of over 200 million people could not produce up to 20 athletes capable of representing it at the global stage.

He said: “In Africa, education is always the priority. Parents don’t believe in sports or entertainment. Currently, entertainment is what everybody wants to do. Growing up, parents wanted their children to be lawyers, doctors, engineers; anything short of that is considered a failure to their family.

“So, the reason why I decided to embark on this mission is because during the last Olympics, the representation of Nigerians at the Olympics was despicable.

“For a country that is the most populated Black nation in the world and the most populated nation in West Africa, over 200 million and still counting, we could not field 20 athletes to represent our great nation, and we call ourselves the Giant of Africa. I want to discover talent and start nurturing them and have them represent my brand locally and then, essentially, start representing Nigeria globally.

He noted that this is one of the verifiable means that most elites athletes in the world are developed from the grassroots with adequate support and training facilities.

Also speaking at the event, Ogun West Senatorial District, Solomon Olamilekan, who was represented by the former Chairman of Sagamu Local Government, Prince Daisi Akintan, commended the organisers for the world-class standard that was brought into the tournament, noting that it has become a talent-hunting competition where champions will continue to emerge in years to come.

Also speaking, one of those in the organising committee, Olufisola Ige-Lahanmi, said the initiative was designed to identify talented youths early, nurture them and prepare them to represent Nigeria on the global stage. She explained that the organisers planned to carry out orientation programmes, secure parental support and documentation for the selected participants before moving them into camping and structured training programmes.

Meanwhile, the Radanuwa of Idado in Sagamu, Oba Oriyomi Soile, commended the organisers for staging what he described as a successful and impactful competition.

He noted that increased support for similar grassroots sports initiatives from government, private organisations and individuals could help reduce youth restiveness, drug abuse and other social vices.

Also, Bolatito Adegbite described the tournament as a platform for discovering and developing talented youths, stressing that sports could serve as a tool for nation-building and youth engagement.

She urged the government to invest more in sports development as a way of empowering young people and steering them away from crime and drug abuse.