In some climes, a sports stadium employs thousands of people, ranging from athletes, coaches, medical and sundry officials, and business operators, all of whom benefit from the periodic activities in the arena, either in terms of salaries, or the sale of their Goods and services.
Nottingham Forest’s Nigerian striker Taiwo Awoniyi controls the ball during the English Premier League football match against Chelsea. Photo: AFP Apart from Britain and the U.S., sports in all the developed countries of the world is big business that has turned children from poor homes into billionaires leveraging their talents to make fantastic money.
Multi-sports fiestas like the Olympic Games and football’s World Cup, among others, are all events that bring out the moneybags, who endorse brands, players, and teams, as well as goods, associated with such events.
In the past, there were attempts by some individuals and organisations to bring professionalism in Nigerian sports in line with what is obtained in other countries. But such efforts were frustrated by government officials, who perceived them as actions that were capable of driving them out of their gold mine.
To run initially from the 2022-2026 cycle, the National Sports Industry Policy creates a healthy environment for businesses to thrive. First developed in 1989, revised in 2003, 2009, and 2018 and metamorphosed into what it is today, the new Policy has the potential to create new opportunities, new challenges, and new prospects for sports development, improvement, and sustainability in the country.
Bala Akintunde of 3SC of Ibadan challenges Reuben Bala of Enugu Rangers during the NPFL/Dozi Mmobuosi Foundation pre-season championship. The kick-off date has been postponed for the third time this season According to Ine: “In terms of potential today, Nigerian sports is worth over N500 billion, but we have refused to do certain things to get to that real value. What stakeholders should be looking at is how to grow the sports ecosystem.
“The objectives are to ensure effective leadership and good governance in sports administration and management.” If the Nigerian Sports Industry Policy comes to be, according to Abdullahi, it would ensure effective regulation and policy implementation of programmes and activities. Abdullahi said the NSIP would also attract major continental and international sporting events and help the country to secure bids to organise high-level competitions while creating an enabling environment for sports to thrive as a business.
Stakeholders in Nigerian sports believe that the delay in the implementation of the policy has cost the country a lot in human capacity development, infrastructural development, and financial benefits expected to accrue to athletes, officials, and the investing public. He said: “The fanfare that heralded the inauguration of the NSIP committee raised hopes that at last Nigeria was about to do the right thing. Many people saw the merits of the new line of thought and were prepared to invest in the sports business.
“The MTN, Coca-Cola, Multichoice, Pepsi, Standard Chartered Bank that are playing big roles in South African sports have bigger operations in Nigeria, but they are not investing in the country’s sports. Allaying fears that the NSIP would be discarded by the new Sports Minister, Senator John Owan-Enoh, Director of Media and Communications at the ministry, Manga Mohammed, told The Guardian that the Federal Executive Council , in its meeting of November 2, 2022, approved the policy’s implementation nationwide.
Napoli’s Nigerian forward #09 Victor Osimhen kicks the ball during the UEFA Champions League 1st round day 1 group C football match between SC Braga and Napoli at the Municipal stadium of Braga on September 20, 2023. “The committee has, for now, submitted its proposals/ recommendations in line with its mandate. Thus, it is hoped and expected that if the recommendations/proposals submitted are considered and approved, the leadership of all the relevant government agencies and other stakeholders will drive towards ensuring that NSIP becomes fully entrenched.