Date: 2012-04-02

FORMER Minister of Sports and Chairman National Sports Commission (NSC), Professor Taoheed Adedoja has revealed that over emphasis on the game of football contributed to the dwindling trend of sports development in the country.

Professor Adedoja made this pronouncement while speaking with sports writers at the ongoing 13th edition of West African University Games (WAUG) at University of Ilorin sports complex, Kwara State.

The ex-minister stated that too much emphasis were being placed on the round leather game to the detriment of other sports in which he believed that Nigeria has abundant talents that could be harness for greater limelight.

He thereby charged the NSC and other stakeholders to embark on developmental programmes that can make other sports more competitive and sought after rather than football that has taken the shines away from others.

Also, he urged the administrators to fashion out ways of improving their various sports and make it of international repute while sighting the case of FIFA who has succeeded over the years to market the game and created a niche for the game widely regarded as king of all sports across the globe.

"Though in Nigeria, we have talents across the federation, but the problem is that every corner in the country, football is being played all round while other sports failed to enjoy the kind of available facilities like football, administrators should find a lasting solution to improve their games as being done in the international sports".

"Football has gained international recognition and that is why it is rated higher than combination of many other sports, every nation belong to FIFA because that is the only avenue to gather momentum in the world of sports. 

Some nations do not take part in other sports apart from football, because they want to belong to global society in which football commands respect."

"Football makes some countries to get favour internationally because of the significance of the game unlike others, but my own view is that adequate attention should be given to other sports and not only football, as this will facilitate speedy development of other games in the near future". He opined.