A former Secretary, Anambra State Football Association, Victor Nwangwu, has called on the State Governor, Chief Willie Obiano, to urgently inaugurate the board of the Sports Commission.

He said that the board, when inaugurated, will serve as a solid structure for aiding sports development in the state as well as an enduring legacy for the current government.

The ex-Rangers International player said that the state still has the potential to stand out as number one state in sports because of the enormous talents waiting to be harnessed and nurtured.

Nwangwu cited other steps that can help improve sports development in the state to include adequate funding of the board, employment of coaches and re-introduction of school sports.

His words: “To use the popular military parlance, the board of Anambra State Sports Development Commission should be inaugurated with immediate effect. Sports is dead in the state.

“That is where to begin, the Director of Sports Development, Chief Tony Oli, should not be sacked for the comatose state of Sports in Anambra State because he was not well guided. He is not responsible for the delay in the inauguration of the board. He is only a servant of the state doing errand for government.

“The responsibility falls on the Governor. It is important that His Excellency understands this.

“A veteran sports administrator of international repute, Oduah, in 2015, urged the Governor to declare a state of emergency on sports. According to him, the only way to ensure that the state bounces back to its glory is by inaugurating the board of the Anambra State Sports Commission and ensuring it’s functional.

“I have said it earlier and I am repeating it for emphasis, Associations are the instrument for the development and propagation of sports.

“If you should have a six-man board and five-man associations for 20 sports we are talking about over 100 people involved in our sports development project.”

The former State FA Secretary, who spoke at the 56th year anniversary celebration of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) in Awka, regretted that only two associations, namely, Anambra State Football Association and the Cricket Association, exist in the state.

He further called for adequate funding of the commission to enable them accomplish the task for which they are formed and in so doing restore the glory of Anambra State.

Nwangwu added: “While the Association should be encouraged to source money through sponsorship, their basic needs for training and competitions, attendance of National meetings and capacity building programs of the National Associations they are affiliated with must be provided.

“The State should have a minimum of 66 persons running sports in the State. That is the way to go.

“Presently, only one person is running sports in the state. It is an affront to the democratic principles of governance we’re practising. The membership of the Association should not be politicised.

“If sports is to be developed the employment of coaches and sports administrators is imperative. Apart from two or three coaches, there is no one else to be reckoned with.”

He advocated for retiring athletes to be engaged and sent to National Coaching Institute adding that a capacity building programme should also be arranged for the existing coaches.

The ex-Rangers International also advised that athletes who have been taken as active athletes but were deployed to other Ministries be returned, even if on redeployment basis noting that they have a role to play.

He opined that no meaningful Sports Development Programme can work without a consortium of coaches deployed to the grassroots in the catchment areas of a particular sport.

While describing schools as the only institutionalised component of Nigeria Sports development, Nwangwu called for the employment of organising secretaries to every local government and every association.

He added: “In other climes, sports academies exist; not what we have in Nigeria. The schools satisfy the need for ‘grassroots sports development’ as well as the ‘catch-them-young’ philosophy.

“School Physical Education programme is so crucial for school sports development that it should be enforced by the Ministry Of Education through the Supervisors of Schools.

“The sports programme of schools should be anchored on 3 components; Instructional: Where sports is taught in P.E. class, exams taken and scores given.

“Intramural is the totality of all sporting experiences offered by the school to all pupils/students. It entails daily activities with time allocated as other subjects. It also includes inter-house and inter-class competitions in all sports the school providers.”