From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
The National Sports Commission (NSC), has revealed that it has commenced the disbursement of $30,000 training grants to the athletes ahead of next year’s continental and international tournaments, beginning with Ese Brume.
NSC Director General, Bukola Olapade, made the disclosure while officially announcing that over 100 other athletes at home and the Diaspora will equally benefit from the disbursement scheduled to start February next year.
Speaking the event in Abuja on Wednesday, Olapade said: “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 came 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 matter 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,” he said.
Explaining further, the DG said: “The preparation for the 2028 Olympics started on Tuesday with the meeting with the sports federation. 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 his 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 I 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.
“The Chairman who has spent so much from his pocket endorsed the request. But since we discovered a very ingenious way of raising a lot of money within the system through donations, we decided to explore the strategy by approaching some of our sponsors that started donating to a fund specifically dedicated for grassroots development, elite development and federations.
“We consulted and resolved that Ese Brume will be the first to shake their hands. We are here today to celebrate patriotic Nigerians and generous Nigerians who understand President’s vision, that of the Chairman and the directorate in terms of energising our children, girls and boys, men and women so that in the next future, the athletes will have no excuse to say that they are not catered for.
“We are starting with Brume the disbursement of the training grants scheduled for February next year,” he disclosed