Lagos State Governor, Mr Akinwunmi Ambode, has identified the right investment in sports as
the necessary impetus that can bring about good performance of Nigerian athletes in sporting
competitions, saying that it was time for the country to focus in such direction.
Governor Ambode said government and all the necessary stakeholders must now invest more in
sports to take the country to its rightful place in the world of sports.
He expressed excitement at the successful hosting of the ITTF tournament which attracted
Table Tennis stars from 22 countries, saying that the development was gratifying and in line
with his vision to use sports as a catalyst for growth and development of the economy.
He said: “We are very happy to have hosted this competition. This is the fourth edition and
you can see that this year’s competition has actually attracted more people and then more
countries. The idea is to use sports as a catalyst for the growth and development of the
economy.
“It is also a catalyst for tourism and it is my strong believe that we must continue to
support sports as a means of allowing us to develop the mental capabilities of younger ones
and Lagos State is ready to do that.”
When asked whether he was disappointed that no Nigerian qualified for the finals of the
competition, Governor Ambode said on the contrary, he was not disappointed but that the
development called for greater investment in sports in the country.
“I am not disappointed at all about that. It’s called Nigerian open and so it’s open to
everybody and again we had Nigerians in the semifinal. So, we need to do more work and then
more coaching and also develop sports. Government has to support sports thoroughly if you
want to see Nigerians in the finals.
“I mean you can see the level of skill-set that the Egyptians displayed here and if we say
we are giant of Africa, we have to prove it in all ramifications. So, my believe is that
government has to spend more time and money in developing sports in this country,” Governor
Ambode said.
Speaking on plans for the competition next year, the Governor promised to increase the price
money and also the number of participating countries, saying that as the destination for
sports in Africa, Lagos must lead the way in promoting sporting tournaments.
“For me, I am going to scale up the price money to attract more people to come for this
competition. So next year, you will see more price money and then more countries
participating in the competition. Lagos is the destination for sports in Africa and that is
the only way we have to go,” the Governor said.
The overall winner of the competition, Assar Omar from Egypt, went home with $5,000, while
the first runner up, Gandhi Sarthak from India went home with $2,300
