Nigeria Armwrestling Federation has set in motion an elaborate plan to ensure they receive enough corporate backing for a successful outing at nexy year’s African championship in Ghana, Sports247 reports.
This was disclosed by the federation’s president, Engineer Samuel Olatunji Jackson during ‘Hot Seat’ segment of Inside Naija Sports, a live streaming programme on YouTube, broadcast at 11:45am every Friday from the studio of Sports247 Naija TV.
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Engineer Jackson pointed out that it is imperative for Nigeria to do well at the 2026 African Armwrestling Championship in Ghana because it will serve as a qualifier for the 2027 African Games.
He added words of satisfaction with the giant strides that have already been achieved by the sport by Nigeria and reckoned that the federation can achieve a bigger impact next year.
The armwrestling guru stated, “You cannot talk about armwrestling in the world now without mentioning Nigeria. There is no competition that we’ve gone to, and we are outside the top four.
“It’s either one, two, three or four for us; but we will keep on working harder in order to improve. My philosophy is that ‘if I sleep yesterday and I wake up today, then the world is at my feet.’ There’s always more to achieve.”
However, in spite of the giant strides that have been achieved for the sport in Nigeria, Jackson confessed that officials of armwrestling face the same problems of funding that all other sporting bodies in the country complain about.
He disclosed, “There are a lot of challenges that we are facing, no doubt. For instance, it’s not easy for our athletes to train and go out to showcase their talent when we don’t have enough aa a federation to sponsor them.
“So, we have problems of funding, and we need to do more in that regard. We cannot lean on government, though, because they are already doing a lot through the sports commission.
“They are doing their part by providing an enabling environment for us to thrive. So, it’s now left to us, as a federation, to look inward and around us for a solution.”
Jackson concluded with a declaration that more effort will be put into the task of seeking corporate support to boost the body’s activities, as they aim to lift armwestling up to an enviable point in Africa and the world at large.
“We have to look inward and see what we can do within our own ecosystem to take us up to the level where we need to be. That’s why we have to solicit for support from corporate Nigeria.
“I have to use this opportunity to plead with corporate Nigeria to support all sports in the country, not just armwrestling. On our part, we are ready to sit down with them and discuss various options.
“Our plan is to make sure that, come next year, for the African championship in Ghana, we get corporate support, especially as it’s a qualifier for the 2027 Africa Games,” Jackson emphasised.
