Delta’s participation in hockey tourney exposed critical gaps in sports development, says Sodje

Former Super Eagles defender, and executive board member of Delta Sports Commission, Sam Sodje, has revealed that there is urgent need for strategic reforms in the country’s sports sector.

Sodje was among Delta Sports Commission’s officials that accompanied Delta Queens hockey team to the just-concluded African Club Hockey Championships in Ismailia, Egypt.

In Egypt, Delta Queens failed to make appreciable impact, winning just one match and losing two, including a 1-3 defeat to Nigeria’s sports rival, Ghana Revenue Authority. While the team’s head coach Richard Adeoye blamed the defeat to Ghana on poor officiating by the umpire, the chairman of the Sports Commission, Onoriode Oborevwore, who watched the match, countered that the cry of poor officiating by the coach was just a way of covering up the team’s poor technical abilities.

“There was nothing like poor officiating in our match against Ghana,” Oborievwore told The Guardian shortly before the team departed Cairo for Lagos. “The Ghanaians were better technically and I expected our coach to say the obvious instead of crying wolf. I felt bad reading him accusing the Egyptian referee of bias. It does not tell a good story about us.”

Sodje, who also watched all matches played by Delta Queens hockey in Egypt, said that their trip to Egypt has exposed critical gaps in Delta State’s sports.

“One key revelation is the pressing need to revitalise grassroots sports development, which is essential for sustaining the state’s competitive edge,” Sodje said. “The Chairman of the Delta State Sports Commission (Onoriode Oborevwori) has made it clear that the current board will no longer support or fund mediocrity. Coaches overseeing various sports associations must demonstrate