By Fortune Eromosele, Abuja

Datare Porbeni, a Member of the International Canoe Federation, has called for massive funding and sponsorships, especially from the government.

Speaking to Vanguard on the sidelines of the 9th African Canoe Sprint Championship/Continental Olympic Qualification to Paris 2024, Porbeni explained that Nigeria was blessed with natural resources and raw talents and that support from the government for Nigerians should not be a challenge.

He noted that a sport like this would excel when there is adequate funding and that there is a need for the federal government to adequately fund and sponsor the project including catering for the athletes involved.

According to him, “We have seen the sports grow from infancy to this point. There has been a lot of effort put by Admiral Porbeni and the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development supported by the Nigerian Navy, Air Force and Army and a host of other divisions. We have been able to get to this point where we are hosting the international Olympic qualifiers in Africa, it’s the first time it’s been done in Nigeria.

“This sport, like all other sports, will excel when there is adequate funding. Now adequate funding will come from various sources: sponsorships, brands could be involved, the government support as well.

“At the moment because the sport does not necessarily have the exposure, we have not been able to access that but we have put in the work to get to this point, so that we get the necessary exposure.

“There are over 200 million of us as our population in Nigeria, all of us are focused on football, it’s just one gold medal; however, water sports, probably about 30 medals plus are available. And we have the natural resources, the talent available to win these medals. All we need is the right kind of support.

“In the area of the government, we have the Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, we also have the Ministry of Tourism, Arts and Culture because this is a sport that will attract so many people around the world. We should not take it for granted that we have a lake in the City Centre, the same with Lagos.

“We have so many things we have been blessed with that we now need to harness. Funding for this sport will go so far, it will do so much not just in terms of IGR, GDP, but also in terms of providing opportunities for the people to grow and develop and elevate themselves from whatever positions they are in to where they should be.

“As Nigerians, if we are honest, with the resources we have been blessed with, not one person should be poor; poverty should be something that’s a theory for Nigerians, it should not be practical, and by the grace of God we will get there”.

Speaking in the same vein, Bello Ayomide Powei, an African Champion in Canoeing, also lamented the provision of adequate resources for the development and training of herself and team.

She said, “I am not too happy because I am struggling to qualify which is not supposed to be so. As an African champion that has been leading with a gap, not by struggling and now because of lack of training, I am struggling to qualify. Because of this, I am supposed to be beating my record which is not happening and this is due to the way things are arranged.

“Our accommodation, feeding and allowances are not catered for. We told our technical and coaches that there needs to be provision for these things, because of these things, we are dragged back and this can affect our training and even performances in the future”.

Earlier, President of the Rowing, Canoeing and Sailing Federation, Admiral Festus Porbeni, said, “Today we have the Olympic qualifiers for Africa. We have 16 African countries here now who are competing, we have Morocco, Egypt, Sao Tome and Principe, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Senegal and others. Nigeria is the host country and I am the host president”.

Also speaking, the President, International Canoe Federation, ICF, Thomas Konietzko, said, “We are happy to be here in Nigeria, this is one of the most important competitions in Africa during the Olympic period. This is a sport that can be done worldwide, we are carrying the whole continent along, and this will help build international relations, as we all know sport builds togetherness. The sport is done every four years”.

To this end, the CEO Nelo, one of the world’s largest and lead canoe manufacturing brands, Andre Santos, said: “We are here because we are the producers of the carts and canoes for most of the teams around the world and it’s no exception for Nigeria, already in Tokyo, the Nigerian team was using our boats and we are also partners with the Confederation Africa of Canoeing. So it’s very important for us to be part of the growth of the sport in Africa”.