The Managing Director/Chief Executive of a privately owned female football club in Niger State, Sa’adatu Kolo Amazons, Hajiya Sa’adatu Kolo, has advocated adequate funding of sports in the country.
She also said that part of the funds would be utilized in the development of sporting facilities.
Hajiya Kolo, who is a former member of Niger State House of Assembly (NSHA) representing Mashegu Local Government, said that with proper funding of sports, more youths would be legitimately engaged and would be less attracted to crime and related vices.
Kolo, also the chairperson, Niger State Female Football Development Team, said that the dilapidated facilities spread across Niger State, Minna, the state capital in particular, has been discouraging the youths from getting involved in sporting activities.
“We are often times faced with misplaced priorities when we are ill-advised”, she said, adding that spending monies that would have been used to develop a number of sporting facilities to sponsor some people from the state to watch the ongoing World Cup in Russia live is not the best.
Hajiya Kolo is at present eyeing the House of Representatives seat for Mashegu, Wushishi, Kontagora and Munya Federal Constituency.
She said that it was unfortunate that Niger State, which has been among the top five in Nigerian sporting chart, is now leading from the rear due to neglect of the sector.
According to her, “It is wasteful having more people as escorts than players to the World Cup who only go there on spending mission, monies on such flamboyancy can be channeled for the upgrading facilities, to pay players allowances or even for related purposes”.
She expressed regrets over huge sums of money often wasted to sponsor people who have no roles to play during events such as World Cup, Olympics or Common Wealth Games instead of using same to upgrade dilapidated facilities.
“We are talking about managing national resources”, she said, adding that a situation whereby staff of some ministries out-numbers the teams that are competing for medals is not just another form of corruption but encouraging wasteful holidaying and spending spree.
Kolo therefore recommended more allocation for the promotion of sports including renovation, rehabilitation and construction of sporting facilities that would encourage more unemployed youths to engage in different sporting activities for a living.
