ASABA -A Delta State athlete, Pius Omofezi has attributed the lacklustre performance of Team Nigeria in the recently ended Beijing 2008 Olympic Games to inadequate attention to athletes’ welfare and poor preparation by the country’s sports authorities.
Omofezi, an Information Computer system student at the Benson Idahosa University (BIU) who is expected to represent Delta State in the 100 metres and long jump events in the 2008 Kaduna National Sports Festival said the Nigerian athletes have the necessary potentials like their European counterparts to do well in the international sports competition.
He accused Nigeria’s sports authorities of not being alive to their responsibilities by catering sufficiently for the welfare of the athletes the way the Europeans do to meirs such that they make them give their desired results in competitions.
“What made Nigeria to record such poor performance was that the sports authorities may have failed to care for the athletes. Sufficient money may not have been given to the athletes”.
He said Nigeria do not have sports programmes which countries like Jamaica, United States of America and others have.
“Nigeria should have a proper programme which has to do with training and exposure of the athletes if we have to succeed in competition.
He asked the sports authorities to start preparing for the London 2012 Olympics from now.
He advised the National Sports Commission to come up with programme that will involve the training of young athletes as the Under-18 and others for the next three years adding that such athletes should feature in international competitions sound exposure in order that they can perform well in the London 2012 Olympic games.
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