By Jonathan Ugbal
The Nigerian Government on Friday signed three Memoranda of Understanding, MoUs with different partners in a bid to bolster development and funding in the sports sector, a statement from the Ministry of Sports Development says.
The MoUs are; a partnership with GTI Asset Management and Trust Limited to relaunch the Challenge Cup as the President Federation Cup in collaboration with the Nigerian Football Federation; an agreement with lottery company, Yanga Games to raise the revenue profile and boost welfare of athletes; and EFFA Management to enhance various aspects of the sports ministry’s strategic six-point policy framework, W.A.I.F.A.R.
The three MoUs were signed in Lagos on Friday and shows the “undiluted resolve” of the Minister, Senator John Owan Enoh, “to boost sports development in line with the Renewed Hope mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s administration,” a statement by his spokesperson, Diana-Mary Nsan says.
On the Challenge Cup, “the renamed competition will involve grassroots teams, create employment for approximately 500,000 Nigerians, engage over 100,000,000 football enthusiasts, and showcase our country’s greatness globally. The President Federation Cup will become President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s legacy, championing Nigerian football,” the statement read.
Enoh who commended the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry, Mrs. Tinuke Watti, NFF President, Alhaji Ibrahim Gusau and the members of the GTI team led by Abubakar Lawal for their contributions, averred that; “our groundbreaking agreements with key private sector players like GTI are indications of our resolve to revolutionize sports in Nigeria, leveraging innovation, technology, and human expertise.”
For the second deal, the minister, who said the collaboration will promote more investments from the private sector, noted that; “we are partnering with Yanga Games to bring maximum benefits to the athletes and all critical stakeholders. We shall give institutional encouragement and support to the Management of Yanga Games to succeed in this onerous task of rebuilding our sports sub sector.”
On his part, the Chief Executive Officer of the company, Mr. Derrick David Kentebe expressed optimism that the partnership will change the narrative of sports in Nigeria.
“We see opportunities for marketing our athletes and sports generally,” Kentebe said, adding that; “we shall raise about NGN34 Billion in the next four years to assist athletes and improve sports in the country. We shall help to develop grassroot sports and sustain youth involvement through raffle draws, fundraisers and other avenues.”
Recall that the W.A.I.F.A.R agenda was launched shortly after Senator Enoh took office with the focus on welfare of our athletes; activation of sports as an industry; infrastructure development; funding for sports development; activation of grassroots sports; and the reorganization of sports federations to ensure effective delivery.
And, for the third agreement, Senator Enoh said that the sports sector is currently experiencing a surge in efforts to improve its performance and the Ministry is fully prepared to establish partnerships that will facilitate this much-needed transformation.
He expressed hope that with the three groundbreaking agreements, Nigerian sports is at the cusp of phenomenal development that will further propel athletes and federations towards greater success and commended all parties for keying into the vision of the Ministry and while promising that the Ministry will continually pursue causes that will lead to strategic positioning for greater development.