The President of Nigeria Wrestling Federation, NWF, Hon.Daniel Igali has sought the support of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development to become a member of the international governing body for the sport of amateur wrestling, the United World Wrestling.
The Olympian made this known on Tuesday when he paid a visit to the minister, Sunday Dare in Abuja.
Igali, who doubles as the Bayelsa State Sports Commissioner said Nigeria has performed woefully in playing sports politics as he noted that except for North Africans, no black man has been able to join the international body.
“What Nigeria hasn’t done well is sports politics. Sports is beyond training four hours a day but having your people stationed at different sporting bodies. So what we are trying to do is to get to the Bureau so we can get the necessary support for African wrestling and for Nigeria in particular.
“If you don’t have your people at that level of decision making, it will become problematic when decisions that concern Nigeria are taken. My being there will be beneficial to Africa and Nigeria in the long run,” he said.
Meanwhile, Dare has bemoaned the adverse effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on the ‘Adopt an Athlete’ campaign.
“We were already on an accelerated pace to get as many athletes adopted as possible before the COVID-19 came and slowed us down.
“Those that promised to adopt were also affected because their companies were shut as there was a general downturn but we have picked up again.
“We hope that the initiative will be sustained such that it can continue to support our athletes other than going for just the Olympics,” he said.
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