President of the Nigeria Netball Federation, Oluwatoyin Aluko, has described the recently concluded five-day coaching and umpiring capacity-building programme as a major component of the federation’s long-term plan to strengthen the sport and create a stronger technical foundation across Nigeria.
The programme, which brought together coaches and aspiring umpires, was designed to improve technical knowledge, raise coaching standards and expand the pool of qualified officials available to support the growth of netball in the country.
Aluko said the initiative forms part of the federation’s five-year strategic development plan, with particular emphasis on building the human resources required to sustain the sport at grassroots, national and international levels.
“This capacity-building programme is one of the major pillars of our five-year strategic development plan. We cannot develop netball without developing the people who teach, manage and officiate the game.”
The Netball Federation president explained that strengthening the technical workforce remains critical to the federation’s ambition of taking Nigerian netball to a higher level.
According to her, improving coaching standards and officiating is not only about producing more coaches and umpires, but ensuring that those involved in the sport understand modern approaches to player development, competition management and the technical demands of the game.
“Our focus is to improve coaching standards, strengthen technical knowledge and develop a new generation of qualified officials who can contribute meaningfully to the growth of netball in Nigeria.”
The five-day programme also provided participants with an opportunity to broaden their understanding of the latest technical and officiating requirements and to create a platform for knowledge sharing among coaches and aspiring officials.
Aluko believes such programmes must become a continuous feature of the federation’s development agenda rather than one-off interventions.
She noted that the quality of coaching and officiating ultimately has a direct impact on the standard of players produced and the ability of Nigerian teams to compete effectively at regional, continental and international competitions.
The federation is therefore looking beyond immediate results, with the broader objective of creating a sustainable pathway through which young players can be identified, properly trained and eventually progress to the national teams.
The initiative comes as the Nigeria Netball Federation continues efforts to rebuild and expand the sport’s structure, with capacity development identified as one of the key areas requiring sustained investment.
For Aluko, developing the game requires more than increasing participation numbers. It requires qualified coaches, competent officials, stronger competitions and a structured development system capable of producing athletes and technical personnel for the future.
“If we want to see a different level of netball in Nigeria, then we must invest in the foundation. Coaches and umpires are central to that foundation, and that is why this programme is important to us.”
With the latest training programme now completed, the federation is expected to continue building on participants’ knowledge while expanding similar opportunities for more coaches and officials across the country.
The ultimate objective is to ensure that Nigeria’s development of netball is driven by a properly trained technical workforce capable of supporting the sport from the grassroots to the international stage.
For the Nigeria Netball Federation, the message is clear: building the sport starts with building the people who make the game work.
