A retired squash player, Friday Omeben, says there can be no genuine sports development where mediocrity thrives in the system that coordinates the affairs of sports in the country.

Omeben made the assertion on Monday in Lagos in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on the dwindling fortunes of sports in the country.

He noted that most times, technocrats were ignored for less qualified people based on sentiments.

“In business, being sentimental will continue to ruin your chances of getting the best opportunities, this also applies to sports and frankly speaking, in all spheres of life.

“Mediocrity has ruined so many things for us as a nation, where is he or she from, is she or he a Christian, so many other irrelevant questions, which cannot in any way take us anywhere as a nation.

“Sports will never thrive under such circumstance, we will keep breeding those who are not fit for the job, and a player can never know more than his or her coach.

“It is what the coach knows that the player taps from, it is a simple arithmetic, and we need to understand that. Invest in people that can deliver and the result will be tremendous,’’ he said.

He urged all the relevant authorities as well as the stakeholders to put their acts together to take the sector to an enviable height.

“We can achieve this if we are determined, when last have we performed excellently at major international competitions outside Africa.

“We need to look beyond tribe, religion, ethnicity and other social affinities and do the needful for sports development.

“We have the talents everywhere around us, but it takes only a great grassroots coach to discover them. (NAN)

– Apr. 1, 2019 @ 11:05 GMT |