Badminton stakeholders and veterans, have called for a well structured national badminton league to discover and groom more players for the national teams.
Dr Nasir Idris, President of Nigeria Union of Teachers (NUT), and a badminton veteran, said this on Sunday, at the end of the 2019 Kauran Gwandu Badminton Championship, held at the indoor sports hall of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Idris, who is also the Kauran Gwandu in Kebbi State, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), that he decided to sponsor the annual competition to develop badminton in the country.
“We organised this competition to bring retired and veteran players together so that we can promote the game of badminton in the country.
“We have about 33 teams from various states of the federation participating in the competition,” he said.
Idris said he would be discussing with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria on how to further grow the game and organise a sustainable badminton national league in the country.
Earlier, Mr Olufemi Davies, Chairman, All Stars Badminton, Nigeria, said the competition was an avenue for veterans to discuss and mentor younger ones.
Davies stressed the need for sponsorship for badminton competitions and grassroots development across the country to discover new talents for Nigeria.
“We are considering how to bring in a badminton league, which is very important and we shall get there very soon.
“It is a pity that a lot of corporate bodies just associate with football, we want more of them to come into badminton, so that we can further develop the game,” he said.
Samson Egbeyemi, former African champion and number 53 world ranked player (1983), also called for more corporate and technical support for the development of the game in Nigeria.
NAN reports that the competition, which is in its second edition, had veterans and clubs from all over the country competing and winning medals and trophies in various categories. (NAN)
