The President of Nigeria Para-Volley Federation, Ladele Olukayode says his biggest target for the sport in the country is to ensure the players reach a standard that is good to compete on the global level.
Olukayode revealed this in an exclusive interview with Sports247 after the Nigerian sitting volleyball team clinched gold at the 1st West Africa Para-Games in Abeokuta.
Read Also: Mixed Wheelchair Basketball Gold Medalist Bailey Segun Eyes Commonwealth Glory, Thanks Nigeria’s Sports Top Shots | Sports247 Nigeria
He added, “This victory is long expected because we have put in a lot of work concerning the game of sitting volleyball. While we were working, I believe the rest of West Africa was sleeping.
“That’s what was known before and now seen clearly that there is a wide gap between us. It has also been confirmed that they have a lot to do if they want to catch up with Nigeria.”
However, while urging the rest of West Africa to wake up, Olukayode quickly interjected that administrators, coaches, and stakeholders of sitting volleyball in Nigeria will not rest on their oars, as they want to reach international standards.
He theorised, “We are still moving forward because we want to compete on the global stage. Towards achieving that target, we are definitely making progress.
“We have seen here already that the standard of our game is higher than what all the other teams can play. It’s also quite interesting to know that all the work we have put into sitting volleyball in Nigeria is now showing forth.”
However, despite the rosy picture that Tuesday’s victory in The Rock City paints, Olukayode admitted that the issue of funding is a major challenge facing the advancement of sitting volleyball in Nigeria.
In pointing that out, he opted for a philosophical explanation, saying: “Our challenges are not things that are new to human beings … the major issue is always financial.
“We have a lot of zeal to do more things and have bigger programmes locally, but the financial push is not there. If we have the push, we will have more athletes, and we will move up to a level where we can compete internationally.”
