Coach Patrick Atusu is the Technical Director of the Handball Federation of Nigeria (HFN). In this interview with HABEEB HAFEEZ, the acting Director of Sports, Sokoto State Sports Council, identifies the bane of handball in Nigeria. Excerpt.
The present HFN board had been bedeviled with crisis since inauguration, what are its effect on the game?
The implication is that the game degenerates because the player’s nationwide only train all year round with no competition to attend, even within the country, not to talk of lack of exposure at the international level. There was no competition to measure our players’ performance and also at the international level, our rating dropped drastically. The international bodies were not happy that Nigeria does not attend competitions. They showed their displeasure with several complaints and whenever they do, the President will always apologise and promise that such will not happen again.
Looking inward, what exactly is the present HFN board doing to improve the situation?
I would say absolutely nothing and I stand to be challenged. I want to place it on record that as the Technical Director of the HFN, all my recommendations were never looked into not to talk of being implemented.
The level of disagreement at the HFN would have been worse than what it was today, if not for the respect the board members have for constituted authorities. There are credible members who have contributed tremendously and are even prepared to do more for the development and growth of handball in Nigeria, but it is unfortunate that some are not just receptive to lofty ideas, instead, they decide to do it the way they think it but everybody has seen where this has led us. Someday I hope we can bring back the lost glory of the game.
The handball continent body, CAHB had just lifted the ban imposed on Nigeria, what implication can such sanction have on the country?
The ban was no doubt, an unfortunate embarrassment to the country and I would attribute it to the crisis of handball in Nigeria. Trust me, if the board had been meeting frequently as supposed, the board members would have done the needful before the intervention of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
HFN problem is internal and that is why after the payment of the fine imposed on Nigeria and lifting of the ban, the problem is still with us. I keep telling people that basketball was nowhere before compared to handball but look at where good leadership has placed basketball today- far ahead of handball.
The ban was less than a year because we took part in the All Africa Games, (AAG). It was recently that Confederation of African Handball, (CAHB, placed a ban on the country for failure to pay appearance and participation fees in the Africa Men’s championship held in Egypt, in January 2016.
It was unfortunate that the ban caused the absence of the female national handball team in CAHB organised draw held in Angola in 2016 ahead of 2017 Women’s Cup qualifiers for 2017 Women World Championship.
As a major stakeholder, what are the lessons learnt out of this saga, and how do you avoid recurrence?
The lesson learnt out of this is what happening in the country today. There is need for change, transparency and accountability. If these are adhered to, there is a better future for handball in Nigeria.
Again, with what has happened, every stakeholder in the game of handball in Nigeria had learnt lessons and we are determined to make sure that this ugly scenario will not repeat itself again.
Coming back home, Sokoto is regarded as home of handball in Nigeria, why the decline in talent discovery and nurturing?
You will agree with me that the problem we have in the state right now is that everything is left for the government alone, unlike time past when wealthy individuals and organisations sponsor competitions. The burden on government has contributed to inability to sponsor our local competitions but the present administration has promised that we will have a better deal this year.
The government has started matching words with action by renovating facilities and sports arenas, an indication that government is committed to sports development in the state.
Truly, we have not had competitions in recent time, but I will disagree with you that we are not nurturing young talents. A visit to our handball courts will reveal the good work our handball coaches are doing. The states currently have players in the age grade categories undergoing training and are prepared to do the state proud when competitions beckon.
What should followers of handball look forward to in the coming Federation election?
With the scenario we found ourselves, I am sure every stakeholder in the game of handball will put hands on deck to elect credible people who have genuine passion for the game, to come on board and salvage the game.
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