We’ll make HiFL Africa’s number one tertiary institution’s sports hub, says Onubogu

Unilag Marines and AAUA Luminaries fighting for points during the 2021 HiFL season

Sport, it is said, has the power to change the world. Sport unites people from all walks of life behind a common goal. It creates opportunities for individual growth, improves physical, mental and emotional health, as well as developing confidence and a sense of empowerment.

In most developed countries, developing sport from the grassroots through schools, provides the building block for future champions.

In the United States, for instance, the National Collegiate Athletics Association (NCAA) oversees sport in colleges and universities and provides the platform from which athletics giants grow to become world-beaters.

In Nigeria, the Nigeria Universities Games Association (NUGA), Nigeria Polytechnics Games Association (NIPOGA) and Nigeria Colleges of Education Games Association (NICEGA) are in charge of tertiary institutions sports, organising competitions for their member schools.

In recent past, these bodies provided international athletes for the country through their various programmes, but sometimes, they join and partake in competitions organised by external bodies, who invite them to vie for honours and prizes, as well as bragging rights.

In the 1980s, Nigeria had the Pepsi Higher Institutions Cup, which provided a football platform for all tertiary institutions in the country. It was a competition that gave talented students opportunity to exhibit their talents in a big platform, with some of these students graduating to play for the national teams and football clubs. Such names as Adokie Aimiesimaka, Aloy Agu, Adeolu Adekola, Vincent Enyeama, Davidson Owumi and Celestine Nzekwe, among others, readily come to mind.

Unfortunately, the