By Jude Opara, Abuja
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has commenced a significant move to support elite Nigerian athletes to always be at their best ahead of international championships.
To this effect, the Commission on Wednesday said it has concluded arrangements to support Nigerian sprinter, Ese Brume with the sum of $30,000 to help her sort things after she was involved in a ghastly car crash in the United States of America on Monday.
In a press conference, the Director General of the NSC, Hon. Bukola Olapade said the Commission is also working out the modalities to determine what each athlete should get as training grant based on their rating and previous performance.
“We are working behind the scene to determine the cadres of how to support the elite athletes with $30,000 each yearly.
“The point is that Ese has started receiving her own training grant which is part of the $30,000 to help her train and it is the same to almost 108 athletes that are potential podium athletes. Some will get $5000, some in Naira for our home based athletes.
“Since the Chairman and later myself became on board, the emphasis has always been on how to change the trajectory of sports and create corporate structure that drives the sports economy. We must start with the welfare of the athletes who mattered the most in terms of podium placement.
“We want to start off the preparation, efficiently and effectively, with the training grants for the athletes. Training grants have been so abused many years in the past where sports men and women are expected to benefit from it.
“We have resolved that starting now; we will give out the training grants to the athletes long before the Commonwealth Games, Olympics and the World Championship happening this year.
“We want to start this strategic approach with arguably the most decorated sports athlete Nigeria has ever had, Ese Brume. Unfortunately, Brume had a ghastly accident but God saved her life with some minor injuries around the ankle. I am very grateful to say that our superstar is alive and she is getting better.
“When I asked her what I can tell the Chairman of the Commission what we can do, she proudly said that all she needs is the support to buy a car from whatever training grant to enable her move around to train and win the world championship. It touched me”.
Olapade further stated that the Commission is working very closely with some good spirited individuals and organizations to raise the funds to support the elite athletes.
