Bankole harps on deployment of technology to boost sports development
By Bankole Taiwo, Abeokuta
The Director General, Nigeria-Brazil Sports Academy and the founder of ISEYA sport initiatives, Paul Bankole has revealed that Nigeria needed effective deployment of technology to thrive and achieve sustainable sporting development in the country.
Bankole stated this during a meeting with sport stakeholders in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
He lamented that no stadium in Nigeria has pro zone cameras, stressing that the camera would tell the movement of every player on the field during a football match.
“Every player will see his performance after the match, that way the player is teaching himself and he is correcting his mistakes.”
He further noted that technology played an important role in the world of sports.
He, however, called for continuous drive for research and innovation to enhance national development in Nigeria.
“We don’t need to go to the government begging for money, we have a lot of money out there that is hanging all over the place but we have not branded sport in a way it should be branded,” he said.
Meanwhile, the special assistant to the Governor of Ogun State on Youth and Sport, Comrade Olamide Lawal said the ISEYA initiative is to contribute to the development of sport in Ogun State.
“This is in line with the visions of the governor to always create enabling environment for public private partnership and if you look at the whole concept, it is bringing up experience persons in sport, veterans, some people that they think that they have retired but that still have more value to add to sport development.
“We believe that these people are more experienced, and coming up on board to have this initiative is to make sure that they are able to interact with different corporate organizations to get sponsors and not relying on government.”
The Grand patron of the initiative Justice Oladehinde said, “The government has taken over schools, so what do we give the students but now we can count schools that have football field, football field have been turned into event centers.
“We don’t have industry, the only industry we can invest in is the sporting industry. You have these young boys going to the hotel because they have no other things doing. Sport Council has no equipment, so the Government should take sport as an industry for the youth.
“The law establishing the sport council is still there, the law established that there shall be a board who shall be the overall controller not the ministry, the Chairman will have direct link with the governor,” he submitted.
