Sports is an organized physical and recreational
activities facilitated by human and material resources for intrinsic and extrinsic values. Sports has become
globally acknowledged as a potential tool
for national and economic development. Nations of the world therefore endeavour
to utilize the potentials in sports to
enhance the attainment of their respective development objectives. In Nigeria, despite the abundance of human and material
resources, the country is yet to optimize its full potentials in the area of sports. Several factors
may be accountable for this state of affairs which may not exclude institutional, management and
leadership challenges.
These challenges must be tackled in order to
realize the core values of sports. These core values
include:
•
Fair play
•
Social justice
•
Discipline
•
Self-discovery
Others
are:
·
Promotion of
sustainable physical fitness and good health
·
Development
of competitive attributes
·
Provision of
entertainment for the public
·
Promotion of
Social mobilization, harmony and national integration
·
Enhancement
of international respect/image
·
Promotion of
gender equality
·
Promotion of
gender equality and em powerment of women
·
Promotion of
sports business for economic development
·
Creation of em ployment
opportunities
·
Instrument
for driving national ideology and re-branding
·
Means of enhancing education
·
Promotion of
culture
·
Promoting the ideals of democracy
and rule of I aw
In order to actualize these
core values of sports and utilize them as powerful tools for nation building and economic development in the direction of Vision
2020, all stakeholders must adopt best practices
in the administration of sports in Nigeria.
In this regard, it becomes
imperative that Nigeria as a nation evolves workable policy thrusts/objectives, realizable sports policy
targets and strategies.
Scope of Sports Development
To
actualize the full potential of sports in Nigeria as a powerful tool of nation
buildi ng and econom ic development in the
direction of Vision 2020, the following areas must be given the desired
attention by all tiers of government:
•
Statutory
provisions to enhance sports development in schools and communities
·
Administration
of sports by professionally trained personnel to ensure adherence to policies, statutes
and maximal use of resources Mass
participation to enhance physical fitness of the citizenry and to build a pool
for talent identification and development
Overall targets for Sports Development
By the end of the period (2020) under
consideration, the sports sector in Nigeria is expected to achieve the following targets:
•
The hub of
sports in Africa
•
The best
sporting nation in Africa
•
One of the best
four sporting nations in the Commonwealth
•
One of the
best twenty sporting nations in the World
•
Develop
sports centers in ALL local government areas and educational institutions
•
Attract
private sector/individual financing of sports up to 30%
When these goals are realized, Nigeria's dream of
using sports for nation building and economic development would have been achieved.
Process Involved in developing the Plan
•
Review of
sports policies, panel reports and other relevant documents
•
Review of
global trends in sports
•
Analysis of current situations of
sports in Nigeria
•
Analysis of
current challenges and opportunities
•
Consideration
of critical success factor