President of Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Musa Nimrod, has called for a mandatory establishment of academies by Premier League volleyball clubs in the country.
Nimrod made the call on Friday at a technical committee meeting of the state Volleyball Association in Kaduna.
He said there were concerns about the need for further grassroots development ahead of major competitions.
“Establishing sports academy will give great opportunity to develop athletes through training and competing during competitions.
“Sports academies are a great opportunity to develop yourself in your chosen sport with training and competing in fixtures every day.
“There are so many reasons for establishing sports academies which include six to 10 hours of professional coaching each week and post-match analysis.
“Other reasons are the opportunity to compete against people of your own age locally, regionally and nationally and free travel to and from training and matches.’’
Nimrod tasked coaches in the state to step up action in preparation for the National Sports Festival (NSF) billed for Delta this year.
Earlier, one of the coaches at the meeting, Vincent Unogwu, had said Kaduna remained one of the top volleyball talent-grooming state and a force to reckon with in the sport.
He commended the NVBF president for his commitment to the development of volleyball in the state, the North-West zone and the country.