Sports lottery fund, key to Nigeria sports sector — Porbeni

President of Nigeria Rowing, Canoe and Sailing Federation (NRCSF), Rear Admiral Festus Porbeni (rtd) has canvassed for the resuscitation of the Sports Lottery Fund to tackle the lack of funding bedeviling the sports sector in Nigeria.

Porbeni, a former minister of transport under former Head of State, Ibrahim Babangida, military administration, stated this while speaking with Sporting Tribune during a recent meeting of the sports federations presidents with Minister of Sports Development Senator John Owan Enoh in Abuja.

The NRCSF president said the lottery fund will adequately cater for the welfare of the athletes as money will also be available to support them (the athletes) in preparing for major international tournaments like the Olympics.

While adding that government funding can never be enough to fund sports in the country, he said Nigeria will be following in the footsteps of Britain when it (Britain) embraced the sports lottery to support its athletes in major tournaments.

“At least with this meeting, we know the preparations coming up and the lack of funds. I suggested that there is a Sports Lottery Fund which is available somewhere to be used for our sports men and women.

“He (the minister) keyed into it and said he is going to set up a committee while we agree that government alone cannot fund sports and of course government budget cannot be enough for sports as well.

“You can see what happened in Britain. They started the Lottery Fund when they saw that they were doing badly at the Olympics and it made them do better at the Olympics.

“It was very nice that the Honourable Minister met with the president of sports federations. The meeting was a cross-fertilization of ideas which both parties learnt a lot from. He (the minister) is down-to-earth, a very good minister,” Porbeni told Sporting Tribune.

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