Since his appointment, Minister of Sports and Youth Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has been quietly impressive in doing his job, despite all the usual red tape and constraints associated with government in this country.
His positive response to the Super Eagles’ failed AFCON compaign, after a promising early rounds, should serve as the tonic needed by Coach Austin Eguaveon and his associates to prepare for the crucial play-off with Ghana in March.
In his speech, He commended the Super Eagles despite the team’s early exit from the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
“From all indications, Nigeria believes in them. President Muhammadu Buhari believes in them and I, as Minister, also have full belief in them.
“They will in fact be encouraged and supported to qualify for the Qatar 2022 World Cup finals later this year and the 2023 African Cup of Nations Tournament in Cote’d Voire next year. This Super Eagles team will show the world the great heights to which truly they can soar”, Sunday Dare remarked.
He commended Austin Eguavoen and the coaching staff and concluded that they gave a strong performance.
“They faced the challenge bravely and gave a good account of themselves. They did their very best and that is all we can ask of them.”
Continuing, the minister remarked “We will lift the spirit of our boys and as professionals they will look beyond AFCON and continue to work with their technical team to ensure continuous improvement.
“The overall performance of the team during this tournament shows we have regained our better footing and are heading in the proper direction.
“Our football once again was fluid, purposeful, and beautiful to watch. We have a good team and Nigeria will help them to get better.
“I also want to use this opportunity to thank soccer-loving Nigerians who followed the team’s participation at the competition. I thank the Nigeria Football Federation(NFF) for rising up to the task and for rising up to the task and for its commitment to ensuring that every support was given to the team.”
Beyond that, Dare should look at other Sports and give them support, so that we can have a balanced development in the sporting arena.
He should look at Table Tennis where we used to have dominance in Africa, but have yielded ground to Egypt and the north African players.
The minister should bring a holistic plan to the table and organize a stakeholders Sports conference to address the rot in the sector.
If all this is being done by the Minister, Nigeria sports activities will have a better ground in the world.
Discussion about this post