Minister Woos Elumelu, Others To Invest In Local Football Clubs

The minister of sports development, Senator John Owan-Enoh has reaffirmed federal government’s commitment to revitalizing the Nigeria football leagues, urging chairman Heirs Holdings and founder of the Tony Elumelu Foundation, Tony Elumelu, chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu and other prominent investors to invest local football clubs.

Enoh made the commitment when he met with the famous business leader Tony Elumelu as part of his continuous conversation to revolutionize the country’s football landscape.
He reiterated the importance of instilling confidence in Nigeria’s prime sport, football, through strategic investments in the local league.

“We must put a home-based structure in place that reflects the charismatic, energetic, and die-hard Nigerian spirit,” he emphasized.

He called upon the private sector to seize the vast opportunities in sports development, its potential to drive economic growth, revenue generation, job creation and national unity to invest in the sector.

Reflecting on his vision for sports development in Nigeria, Senator Enoh, in a statement signed by his SA media, Diana-Mary Nsan, emphasized the need for a systemic structure that addresses the underlying challenges within the football ecosystem.

“As a sports ministry, we do not aim for superficial solutions. Our vision is to build a robust framework that tackles issues from the grassroots level up. Let us rise to the occasion and bring back glory of our nation’s local league,” he urged.

The minister, who also had the chairman of BUA Group, Abdul Samad Rabiu, joined (virtually) in his conversation with Elumelu, said only a collaborative effort between government and private will help unlock the full potential of Nigeria’s sports on the global stage.