‘Sound Sports Education Policy, Answer to National Development, Youth Re-orientation’

As Nigeria marked Children’s Day, usually celebrated with parades and various forms of fanfare, interschool friendly football matches and other games to sustain friendship, love and peace among children, this year was without the usual glamour due to the global pandemic that has brought many nations to a standstill.

In concert with the Children’s Day celebration, the Barca Academy Group Nigeria, through the Chairman Blaugrana Sports Group International, promoters of the project in sub – Saharan Africa, Leslie Oghomienor, in a statement to the media, pledged the organisation’s commitment towards a total development of a dependable and reliable individual leader in each young person who had the opportunity to pass through them.

To walk the novel talk, he called on government and policy makers to consider national sports education policy with budgetary provisions to effectively implement such policy of national development for collective interest and the future of the very young sports people, including the physically challenged.

He stressed that this approach would give a lot of encouragement and privileges to talented children whose parents could not afford to sponsor their education.

“Our policy formulators should research and learn from other climes who are doing great in sports and education, two key areas that cannot be ignored when considering the holistic nurturing of the children, preparing them to become leaders,” Oghomienor explained.

He called on parents to pay more attention to the activities and interests of their children and wards especially now that it has become mandatory for the children to spend more time on the internet learning because of the pandemic, in order to guide and protect them against things that would have negative influence on the child’s character development.

According to him, the Barca Academy Group Nigeria would continue to ensure that the interest of the children was given a primary place in the scheme of things of the promoters of the project, with a high inclination for the girl-child to encourage and motivate female children who have the skills and were interested in playing football as a career.

He used the occasion to appeal to parents, especially mothers to encourage and support the girl-child who has the skills in playing football while also studying.

He emphasised that the country stood to gain a lot if government could take the bull by the horns and formulate sports education policies that would make it compulsory for academy institutions no matter at what level to give scholarship to outstanding children who are doing well in sports.

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