As Nigeria seeks to diversify its revenue mainstay from oil, stakeholders have called on government at all levels to prioritise the development of sports tourism to fast-track the socio-economic progress of the country.
The stakeholders, drawn from both the public and private sectors, made the call at the National Football and Tourism Roundtable, held at the Transcorp Hilton Hotel in Abuja on Friday.
The event, with the theme, “Unlocking Nigeria’s Potential: Exploring the Synergy of Sports Tourism and Foreign Direct Investment”, was organised by World Football Exhibition in collaboration Chinese Tourism Promoters Initiative and Emirati Innovative Services, to brainstorm on how to harness Nigeria’s rich sports tourism potential for economic job creation and revenue generation.
According to the stakeholders, sports tourism, a rapidly growing industry worldwide, presents a unique opportunity for Nigeria to leverage its passion for sports, particularly football, to attract tourists and generate revenue.
They, therefore, called for investment in sports tourism infrastructure, such as stadiums, training facilities, and sports museums, to host international sports events to attract visitors from around the world, and thereby create jobs, stimulate local economies, and promote cultural exchange.
An entrepreneur and public speaker, Nana Kazaure, who moderated the panel session tagged “Building a Thriving Sports Tourism in The FCT’, said the sector offers a lot of investment opportunities, including media rights, merchandising, ticketing and sponsorship, among others.
General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Dr. Mohammed Sanusi, said: “When you talk about football and tourism, you are talking of either participation in football or going to watch football;that is what football tourism is all about.
“But you cannot participate in football tourism where the facilities to host these events are not there. When you talk about roads and other infrastructure, as far as football tourism is concerned, it is to talk about the availability of the facilities for people to take part in sports.
“As I am talking to you, the only stadium we have in Nigeria that is FIFA approved is the one in Akwa Ibom State, and We all lost the opportunity to host our events in Nigeria because of the absence of facilities.”
Executive Director, Abuja Trade Center, Mr Ezekwesili Nnam, said Nigeria’s sport tourism sector offers a huge economic opportunities, especially the potential to attract Foreign Direct Investment, but lamented that lack of data and poor state of infrastructure was a major setback.
“Businessmen need answers, so it’s not enough to say you want to talk about attracting foreign direct investments, because we do not have enough and accurate data of the sector.
“Personally, I have had so many businesses structured for our members but when it comes to sports you do not have the data, and the story and the data do not encourage any investor.”
According to the organisers of the roundtable, it was an opportunity for stakeholders from both the tourism and sport sectors to chart a common front towards ensuring sport tourism becomes a key contributor to national economic growth.
For her part, Amb. Aisha Yusuf, who represented the Chinese Tourism Promoters said: “ This is a synergy between football, tourism, hospitality in the country and we saw this as a perfect avenue to showcase, discuss and promote and attract foreign investment in the country.”
Project Director, World Football Exhibition, Mr Akin Laniyi, said the initiative was an opportunity for stakeholders from both the tourism and sport sectors to work together, adding that a historical book that chronicles Nigeria’s football history from the colonial era would be launched in March as part of the football exhibition project.
“This is a platform where we interact and for Nigeria’s to draw inspiration from what we are doing here and be able to contribute to sports development .
“It is an avenue to emphasise the very strong relationship between sports and tourism which is easily lost sometimes in people’s minds, but they are very strongly connected,” he stated
Earlier in his keynote speech, Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Mr Peter Obi, said sports tourism and direct foreign investment hold the key to unlocking Nigeria’s economic potential and propelling the country towards sustainable growth and development.
Obi, who was represented by a Public Affairs Analyst and National Secretary of Coalition of United Political Parties (CUPP), Peter Ameh, Nigerians’passion for sport was an indication that sports tourism would flourish if given the required attention.
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