I subscribe to 10-year sports development plan, says Fashola

One time Governor of Lagos State Babatunde Raji Fashola ( SAN) says he’s fully in support of a 10-year sports development plan which will involve appointing  sports administrators with proven knowledge and personal discipline who understand that the country’s  objective is not to win at all costs, but to win in the end by building something that lasts.

He made his opinion known during the launch of the autobiography of veteran journalist  Dr. Mumuni Alao held Sunday at the Tayo Tayo  Aderinokun Hall, University of Lagos.

In his paper titled, Re-Thinking The Current  Football Business Model In Nigeria As A Catalyst For Sports development, Fashola who was the guest speaker at the event, noted that the country must avoid the syndrome  of ‘quick fixes’ just as he stated that all  hands must be on deck to move the country’s sports forward.

“We must not look for quick fixes. I subscribe to the idea of a 10-Year Plan and a decade of commitment to sports development. We must appoint sports administrators with proven knowledge and personal discipline who understand that our objective is not to win at all costs, but to win in the end by building something that lasts.

“The resources we require, in terms of manpower abound amongst our large number of persons below the age of 30 who have talent and energy.Teachers and coaches must be co-ordinated for talent scouting and development.

“Architects, builders and allied professionals must be co-ordinated to integrate existing transport infrastructure with sporting facilities and arenas; and develop new ones.

“Health workers of all cadres must seek the importance of sports to the human developmental index and collaborate to develop nutrition, care, support and deliver the best. Lawyers and arbitrators are required to be trained, to update and modernise the laws and regulations, and to ensure unflinching implementation.

“The media, communication and advertising professionals must re-position their approach for optimising the possibilities (training of personnel, investment in equipment, incentives for sponsorships).

He was of the opinion that for the country to get it right, government at the  federal level must focus on licencing dedicated sports outlets in print and electronic platforms to support the popularisation and publication of sports noting that in addition,  the Federal  Government must consider fiscal and possibly monetary policies that help to attract investment into sports on many fronts;  particularly equipment manufacturing.

Fashola argued that since  lottery and betting business in Nigeria is growing and controlled by the  state governments, it’s  now time to attract the undoubted cash of the  business into sports and football business,  without compromising the integrity of competition, results and fair competition.

“There are estimated to be about 40 million micro, small and medium enterprises in Nigeria, spread across the 36 states, 768 local governments and 6 area councils of Abuja, This is a large asset, and each state where they are situated can stimulate them to invest based on fiscal policies like tax credits or tax holidays.

“Ownership of these businesses can be attracted to invest into existing clubs, for advertising and broadcast rights, for example.The stadia and arenas must be made family-friendly by embracing local and community policy  complemented by the law enforcement personnel.

The former Minister of Works went further   to advocate for  a new generation of officials, umpires and  referees who must administer the rules of various sports with utmost integrity and who  must have no tolerance for hooliganism or violence under any guise positing that there should be no room for drug use or cheating in any sports facility in the country.

He explained that during the 10 year period the input of the Nigeria Bar Association will be crucial while the  National Sports Commission and the National Institute For Sports will put heads together and  prepare a National Calendar of Sports, of how local government and school sports will fit into the National Sports Festival to produce talents for the All African Games, which will feed into the Commonwealth Games and then  to the Olympics and World Cup respectively without clashing.

On the country’s football development, he stated that there must be no doubt about when the Nigeria  Professional  League will start because there is no excuse for ad-hoc stoppages which is unacceptable; saying that before pre-season training is to commence the 2025-2026 English Premier league fixture is out.

“I must acknowledge that the Nigeria Professional Football League Fixtures for 2025/2026 are also out. This is what enables corporations, investors, and stakeholders take investment decisions.(Police, transport, food vendors and many others are already planning with that calendar).

“Between June and July, the whole of Europe entered the summer season, their best weather, and schools have closed. What you will see now are many youth sports events at local, national and international level keeping young people busy.

“What is our national plan for the long holiday to engage young people and keep them away from drugs and crime?”, he asked rhetorically.

Fashola reminded the audience that when the then National Sports Council was re-organised in 1971 under Decree no 34 of the Federal Government, to be known as National Sports Commission, it was charged with the development of  sports at all the nooks and cranes of the country, advising the present leadership of the Commission not to deviate from that mandate.

On upgrading of facilities, he argued that the era of large capacity stadia and those located in the outskirts of towns is dying since according  to him, FIFA is now  favouring community-based stadia like the Agege Stadium with local ownership which ranges from over 5,000 to 20,000 capacities; saying that Nigeria must embrace that model.