No blueprint for sports development in Nigeria – SWAN President, Sirawoo

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No blueprint for sports development in Nigeria – SWAN President, Sirawoo

National President, Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Honour Sirawoo, on Friday said the nation had no blueprint for the development of sports to make it a money spinning venture.
Sirawoo disclosed this in a chat with journalists, saying the performance of Nigerian athletes in the ongoing Rio Olympics was a clear case.

“We cannot say that Nigeria is getting it right in sports development when we do not have or know what we are working on.

“To get anything right, there must be a template. What is our blueprint or guiding principle? We do not have a scope for sports development,” he added.

Sirawoo said that there was no standard to measure performance of sports in the country, and as such, the nation could not
do well.

He said that sports in Nigeria was like an open space without direction, and this has accounted for the nation’s poor performance.

According to the SWAN President, Nigeria needs a blueprint to develop sports with targets to be achieved within a defined period.

“With a blueprint, we will know what we are doing.We will identify the sports we are good in, and begin to work towards it.

“It will encourage grassroots sports development. To win an Olympic medal, you need like six years intensive planning and practical demonstration of our desire,” he said.

Sirawoo urged sports administrators to develop a blueprint and identify Nigeria’s area of comparative advantage and work towards it.