Igali urges government to fund sports

Bayelsa State Commissioner for Sports, Daniel Igali, has urged the Federal Government to budget huge amount of money for the upliftment of sports from the grassroots to a higher level for excellence.

Igali, who spoke with journalists at the ongoing National Youth Games in Asaba, Delta State, said: “I want Nigerian government, through the Sports Ministry, to fund sports properly and engage the patriotic and creative minds of the youth to foster unity nationwide.
 
“It takes huge amount of money to keep miscreants, street urchins and drug addicts behind bars. So, why should government at all levels shy away from having a reasonable budget for sports in Nigeria?
 
“Other countries use sports to mitigate youth unrest, social vices and illiteracy in the society. So, I want to humbly request that government should think of empowering youths of Nigeria through sports with huge budgetary allocation,” he stated.
 
Igali, who won Canada’s first gold medal in wrestling event as an athlete for that country, stated that since his appointment in 2013 as Sports Commissioner in Bayelsa State, it has been success and victories not only in wrestling but in other sports.
 
He also called on the Federal Government to accord sports icons an ambassadorial role with diplomatic passports for good reasons. Igali explained that by so doing, sportsmen and women in Nigeria would begin to have respect to function in building the image of the country at home and abroad. The Commissioner revealed that other countries have such portfolios for their sports men and women due to their excellent performance in sports.

On the fate of wrestling in Nigeria, the wrestling Federation President, noted that there is no decline but rather an improvement over the