By
Ochor Daniel Chinonso 

The current initiative by the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, who is making a plea to refocus on the development of sports at the grassroots is not only timely but also vital in ensuring that sports in Nigeria continue to develop, on a sustainable basis. My greatest strength as a sport psychologist and coach is that I strongly believe in this vision since sporting excellence is not constructed top-down but bottom-up.
The Nigerian sporting arena has long since been defined by reactive sports policies. We are ready to do big tournaments without investing in structural bases which create champions. But all the success stories in sports around the world, in athletics, in football, in the playgrounds in the schoolyards, in the clubs in the communities, young talents are first introduced to their interest and their potential.
It is thus a positive move that the Senate President under-18 Unity Football Competition was inaugurated in Abuja as this aims at re-branding sports as a means to empower youth, foster national unity and help in the discovery of talents. Other than entertainment, these competitions are a psychological and developmental avenue to young athletes. They expose children to competitive games at an early age, aid in developing confidence, discipline, and teamwork, and the winning culture that goes beyond the field.
Psychologically, the adolescence stage is also a period which is critical in identity development and motivation. With the right guidance, the involvement in a grassroots sports will improve the self-esteem, resilience and social cohesion of the youths. The latter claim can be supported by the results of the UNESCO 2023 Global Sports Report that noted that nations that invest in youth and school sports have higher elite athlete rate and reduced youth delinquency. It is these kind of experiences that the future stars of Nigeria- our own Jay-Jay Okochas, Asisat Oshoalas and Victor Osimhens are molded.
This is also supported by evidence in the history of sports in Nigeria. Nwankwo Kanu and Mikel Obi among the others were identified in the youth tournaments like the Pepsi Football Academy and Shell Cup that offered systematic grassroots exposure. As stated in the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Talent Development Report, 2024, more than half of all professional footballers to have represented Nigeria since 1994, started their careers in local youth schemes or in secondary school tournaments.
Sustained development however requires a systematic approach to grassroot development so that the same may truly excel. Government, corporate organizations and schools should collaborate to offer infrastructure, coaching education and psychological support systems. The grassroots competition must not stop being an annual ceremony and it must become a talent development pipelines linked to the national academy and professional clubs.
It is also of great importance that sport psychology should be introduced into the grassroots programs. Unless it has mental strength talent can scarcely be brought to its utmost. The young athletes are taught to cope with pressure and to stay focused which are qualities that are crucial in sports and life, and they can only be taught this with early psychological training. A study published by Journal of Applied Sport Psychology (2022) concluded that the consistency of performance in youth athletes who had received psychological skills training was almost two times greater than those who had not received that training.
The fact that Senator Akpabio has realized the benefits of developing sports at the grassroots as the platform through which Nigeria can achieve its sporting development is a revitalizing policy trend. When compared with appropriate execution, supervision, and investment, there is a chance that Nigeria can regain the status of Africa sports powerhouse.
To sum up, it is not only that grassroots sports are about finding the next great sports star, but it is also about character, community, and national pride built up at the grassroots sports level. Our future as a nation in terms of sports is tied to the success of nurturing our roots today.

(Ochor Daniel Chinonso is a Sport Psychologist and Coach who is based in Port Harcourt)