Nwankwo says the sports sector can be used for national development
The Coach of the Federal Road Safety Commission (FRSC) Handball team, Innocent Nwankwo, has called for the early inclusion of sports in school curriculum.
Speaking in Abuja on Monday, Nwankwo said that the early introduction of children to sports would help to stimulate their mental alertness and encourage wider participation in sports.
“It is a wrong perception to think that when you introduce sports into the educational curriculum the students will not be coordinated,” he said.
“I want to state that if you introduce sporting activities into the educational curriculum, the benefit is enormous, as the person will be mentally and physically alert.
“And until you are mentally alert you cannot reason well, but once you are mentally alert you can assimilate better when you go back to school.”
Nwankwo added that once an individual has been put through the rigours of sporting activities, the resultant effect will be apparent.
The coach also urged the authorities to nurture the country?s budding talents in line with what obtains in other countries.
Nwankwo emphasised the importance of sports development in national development agenda.
“Countries like China and the United States that are advanced in sports are also economic and world powers,” he pointed out.
The coach also called for private sector contribution to sport development, explaining that for a country to belong to the elite hierarchy of world sports, the private sector must be wholly involved.
This, he said, was because government alone could not handle the sector.
“If we look at all the big time teams, you?ll see that they are all about business. But, first, you have to invest in facilities, sporting equipment and personnel,” Nwankwo said.
“I think the relationship between sports and national development is not the one that you can divorce easily. With the abundant talents we have in sports, we can become an economic power through this medium.”
