A board member of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation, Major General Taritimiye Gagariga has said that he is passionate about the growth and development of volleyball, especially at the grassroots level.

Gagariga spoke at the end of the Kontagora Volleyball Challenge, a grassroots tournament held in the Nigerian Army Cantonment, Kontagora, Niger State from October 27 to 31, 2021.

He revealed that his focus is to ensure that youths, who are yet to have the opportunity to participate in the centralised top level volleyball competitions in the country would have an avenue to play the game in their various localities.

“I am passionate about the growth of volleyball at the lowest level, which is the grassroots. No sporting nation can excel without the continuous production of players at the grassroots level. All the elite players we have today started from the grassroots, and this is why my focus is the continued organisation of local competitions where new talents are discovered.”

He continued: “Everyone cannot play in the Nigeria Volleyball Premier League or National Division 1 League. So, we commenced the grassroots competition in Nigerian Army School of Artillery Kachia in September 2018. We continued in 2019 and the grassroots challenge has visited Zaria, Abuja, Jos and Bauchi, where serious competitions were organised. The Kontagora Challenge is one other opportunity for other volleyball players to showcase their hidden talents. We have been able to produce players for the Nigerian National teams and the Premier League within the three years since we began.

“All grassroots players now look towards participating in the bigger leagues in Nigeria so they take our local challenges seriously as coaches and other technical persons use the opportunity to observe them well,” he stated.