…Draws inspiration from California universities’ athletes winning 89 medals at 2024 Olympics_

The Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Shehu Dikko, has emphasized the critical role of educational institutions in advancing sports development across Nigeria.

While receiving a delegation from the Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) on Tuesday, Dikko stated that schools and universities are key to nurturing young talent and building a strong foundation for the country’s sports future.

He stressed that collaborating with educational institutions to improve sports facilities, coaching, and training programs will create a pathway that will be essential to identifying and grooming future athletes who can represent Nigeria on national and international stages.

The Nigeria University Games Association (NUGA) delegation, led by its president, Bawa Muhammed, expressed confidence in Dikko’s leadership, given his experience and background as a grounded sports administrator.

Bawa added that NUGA has huge confidence in Dikko’s abilities and shares in his vision to grow sports and the sports economy. He said university athletes won approximately 35% of the medals at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and NUGA has a mission to propel Nigerian sports to such international success.

In response, Dikko spoke fondly of the glory days of NUGA, recalling his time at Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria where student-athletes, where all proud and angling for opportunities to participate and compete in the NUGA Games.

“The NUGA Games is a tournament that every student wants to be a part of,” he said. “NUGA is key to sustainable sports development, and we need to collaborate to ensure that talents emerge from these games.”

Athletes from four universities in the State of California won 89 medals at the last Olympics with only Stanford university students winning 39 (12 gold, 14 silver and 13 bronze). Dikko said such achievements are a reflection of the importance of educational institutions in sports and Nigeria must take the record as a motivation to work hard to be in that bracket.

He emphasized the NSC’s commitment to fostering talent through a focus on grassroots and school-based sports. He highlighted the importance of partnerships with NUGA and the Ministry of Education to secure private funding for infrastructure and training in universities.

“With the right facilities and coaching, we can cultivate young talent that will naturally bring medals and achievements for Nigeria,” he explained.

Dikko further assured the delegation of the commitment of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to ensure the revival of the schools sports in Nigeria.

To his end, Dikko stated that the short term objective is to, through the NSC ensure the immediate resuscitation and revitalization of the NUGA games back to its glory days whilst on the medium and long term is to establish Centres of excellence using universities and secondary schools as a bedrock. As a pilot, one university will be identified at each geo-political zone to serve as centre of excellence while some secondary and primary schools with be identified in collaboration with the sub-nationals to serve as Centres of excellence in the states. With this strategy therefore, there would be a clear pathway for talented athletes to be identified right from childhood and be nurtured properly all through to professional levels without compromising their education.

Dikko also stated NSC expectations from sports federations, underscoring that only those with a concrete and sustainable developmental approach would receive approvals/funding support to participate in international tournaments.

“It’s not just about tournaments but about real development. We need to work with NUGA, collaborate with education ministries, and help us build sports programs within schools,” he concluded.

He affirmed that the NSC will be dedicated to strengthening sports at all levels of education in Nigeria.

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