Chairman of Ex-Squash Pro Diaspora, Femi Solomon Shittu, disclosed to The Nation in Lagos that the aim of the competition is to give the young players the platform to showcase their talents and abilities.
“Those days when we used to play, we move from one state to the other, but since then, we’ve noticed squash has taken the back seat, that is why the Ex-Squash Pros Diaspora is taking the bull by the horn by bringing back those glory days and engaging our kids with this kind of competition.”
President of the Nigeria Squash Federation, Boye Oyerinde, said the development of Squash from the grassroot is topmost on the agenda of the new board.
“The Technical Committee of the federation is working on grassroot development programmes. We are also trying to get the database of squash facilities in the country. All these are ways to reposition the sport in the country,” Oyerinde said.
Tournament Director, Demola Ganiyu, said the competition is open to every kid in the country adding that free accommodation and feeding will be provided for all the participating players.
“We have invited international referees to come and officiate and we will be very strict with the certificates presented by the players. So if you are coming to this tournament, you must come with original certificate. We want to start presenting U15 players at world championships, that is our objective,” said Ganiyu who also doubles as Osun State Director of Sports.
Former Nigerian top Squash player, Kunle Adebiyi now based in the United Kingdom said organizing such competition is also a way of giving back to the sport.
“It’s just the joy of giving back and people have different ways of giving. I have committed a certain percentage of my salary in doing this. This is not the first time, I started since 1995. So when you talk about how we can sustain it, we have a forum and we all meet now and then to see what we can do”, he submitted
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