Minister Urged To Embrace Adopt-An-Athlete Initiative

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Sports Development Minister, Senator John Enoh, has been urged to embrace some of the laudable projects and innovations initiated by his predecessor Sunday Dare, especially the ‘Adopt-an-Athlete’ initiative designed to provide financial support for elite athletes.
Dare’s adopt initiative which includes the adopt a talent and adopt a pitch proved a huge success and Enoh has been urged not to abandon it.
‘The adopt initiative proved pivotal in the funding of our elite athletes’ preparations for major events and for reviving major sporting infrastructures,’said renowned athletics statistician, Samuel Fatunla.
The Ekiti State born sports administrator says the historic feats achieved by Tobi Amusan and Team Nigeria cannot be divorced from the initiative, saying: “Dare was proactive in his approach and used his connections and office to secure funding for the athletes and the result came in an unprecedented manner.
‘For the first time a Nigerian did not only win a World outdoor title but also set a world record. Amusan benefitted from the project and the funding helped in preparing her for the World Athletics Championships in Oregon, USA in 2022.
‘Team Nigeria also recorded one of its best performances at the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, United Kingdom in 2022,’ said Fatunla.
Dare, according to the track and field expert, also used his connections to get Aliko Dangote and Kessingthon Adebutu to fix parts of the Moshood Abiola Stadium in Abuja and the National Stadium Surulere, Lagos respectively.
‘Through this ‘adopt initiative’, the Moshood Abiola Stadium has hosted big CAF sanctioned football matches while the Stadium in Lagos seems to have been abandoned again,’ said Fatunla who agrees the National Stadium is not ready to host any competition now.
‘I feel we can allow our track and field athletes to use the place for their training. It will help a lot as there are very limited facilities in Lagos that they can use.
‘The track is brand new and the pitch has been fixed. The Minister should not only open it to the athletes for training but also expedite action on either concessioning it or get private individuals and companies to rehabilitate it.’