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By Akpan David, Calabar
The representative of South South Zone at Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), Mr. Ama-Ebi W. Ebikpolade has called for community partnerships and mentorship to sports development in the country.
He revealed that the combination of these account for increased interests and participation in sporting activities in his home state, Bayelsa.
Ebikpolade stated this during a sports presentation, titled Strategic Role of Grassroots Sports In Deriving Mass Participation and Talents Discovery’ in Calabar during an event organized by Nigeria Union of Journalists in the state.
He said Community partnerships and mentorship are responsible are very critical.
Ebikpolade who is also chairman of Bayelsa State Table Tennis Association (BYSTTA) who emphasized on the imperatives of domesticating the National Sports Policy, has erected a massive Table Tennis court in Yenagoa, capital of the state as a way of sustaining and boosting interest in sports participation.
He harped on importance of community level discovery of sports talents.
“In Bayelsa State, we began by identifying raw talents in hard-to-reach areas, places where even internet signals struggle to reach. Through local championships, community partnerships, and mentorship, some of those kids are now national medalists and scholarship beneficiaries.
“But that progress didn’t come from policy documents alone, it came through intentional engagement and grassroots presence by our association. This model can and should be replicated.
“Every LGA should have active sports groups tied to schools, community leaders, and traditional institutions. That is the only way to ensure the policy is alive, not just in Abuja, but in here in Calabar, Ikom, Obudu, Ogoja, Akamkpa, Bakassi, Ugep, Akpabuyo, Odukpani, and so on.”
He argued that grassroots development is not about waiting for children to show up at stadiums, explaining that “It’s about taking sports to them, to their schools, churches, youth centres, motor parks, markets, and even their street corners.”
Ebikpolade who runs Coastal Fortress Table Tennis Academy (CFTTA), called on the media to lead in the campaign to mobilizing grassroots discovery of new sports talents.
“If you keep spotlighting elite athletes alone, the young hopeful in Ikang or Idomi may never believe they matter.
“Let’s challenge ourselves to cover local tournaments, showcase community coaches, and tell the story of that single mother using sports to keep her son away from cultism. Your lenses, pens, and microphones can either amplify or silence the grassroots. I urge you to choose the former.”
As a way of deepening the domestication of sports policy through grassroots sports associations, a Directory of Functional Sports Associations by LGA be created which will help policy actors know where to channel resources, trainings, and equipment.
He recommended that friendly matches and other games be organized during Festivals and Cultural Days to Promote Sports Participation.
According to him, to truly domesticate the national policy is to ensure it walks on local legs, speaks in native tongues, and reflects the hope of every boy and girl who dares to dream through sports.
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