The proposed Athletes Trust Fund, a brainchild of Youth and Sports Development Minister, Mr. Sunday Dare has been given a boost with the donation of N10m by owner of Remo Stars FC, Hon. Kunle Soname.
With this gesture, Nigerian athletes will soon enjoy a new lease of life when Dare officially floats the athletes’ relief fund.
Soname said he was donating the money in his individual capacity as a mark of his commitment to lifting the morale of Nigerian athletes.
The scheme when officially unveiled would be funded by the proceeds from the National Lottery Trust Fund, partner agencies, corporate bodies and individuals.
Part of the reason that led to the introduction of the scheme is to take care of the welfare of athletes, finance their training, pay for their preparation and participation in major international competitions.
Dare has commmenced talks with agencies and other partners to provide seed money for the intitial take-off of the initiative.
The money will serve as huge source of support to Nigerian athletes whose source of earnings had ceased as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, resulting in the suspension of all major sporting events.
The modalities for the disbursement of the funds to the athletes is expected to be worked out with guidelines provided by the sports ministry.
Dare has always insisted that the welfare of athletes remains the cardinal objective of the Sports Ministry under his leadership.
