Influence Gwede, the Head Coach of Kwara Baseball and Softball Association, on Thursday appealed to the government and corporate organizations to support the association to reposition the sport.

Gwede said that the neglect being experienced by the sport over the years had retarded its growth.

He added that the dearth of regular competitions that would have kept the players engaged had also contributed to its  slow pace of growth.

''We are not getting support from government and private bodies to fund some of our programmes, and this has been a major setback for the sport and the association.

''We need the support of government and corporate organisations to fund competitions for players on a regular basis, to get the sport back on track,'' he said.

He urged the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA) to come up with programmes that would attract sponsors to the sport.

''NBSA also has a role to play by drawing up programmes that could entice sponsors,'' he said.

Baseball/Softball was introduced into the country in 1989, with the first match played at the Union Bank Sports Club, Surulere.

The introduction was pioneered by Maj.-Gen. Ishola Williams (rtd), Prof. Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, a former Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange and Dr William Boyd, a former Secretary-General of the Nigeria Olympic Committee.