Grassroots sports need more gov’t attention – Oyekale

Oyekale told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Friday that fresh talents were supposed to be identified from grassroots programmes and this had not been so. “We have budding talents at the grassroots that only need exposure– through regular grassroots competitions to excel. It is one area in which we […]

Oyekale told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in a telephone interview on Friday that fresh talents were supposed to be identified from grassroots programmes and this had not been so.

“We have budding talents at the grassroots that only need exposure– through regular grassroots competitions to excel. It is one area in which we have not done well as a country.

“I hope we can correct it quickly, because it is only that way that football and sports in general can develop,” he said.

He urged the government to strive harder to support grassroots programmes because they were discovery channels that should be used to identify new talents to replace ageing ones.

“Government should focus on grassroots sports and revive it because it is going down. This is not what it used to be,” Oyekale said.

He disclosed that the club was doing everything possible to feature in next season’s Nigeria Premier League (NPL).

Oyekale added that all was being done to ensure that the team featured in the premier league as soon as possible. (NAN)