Reigning ITTF African youth champion Taiwo Mati has call on stakeholders to be actively involved for the growth of the sports from the grass root.
In a chat with BRL, the African youth singles and doubles champion revealed that for Table tennis to develop in Nigeria, It has to be the joint responsibility of major stakeholders, including Government, Coaches and general managers of Sports Councils.
“From my experiences and what I have seen so far, the state of table tennis in Nigeria is not that bad but it’s not too good either.
“We still have a long way to go; both the young and international players. We still have lot of things to improve on and implement in the Federation so that we can be in the top Levels.”
“Everyone should be responsible for the development of table tennis in Nigeria starting from the grassroot level to the higher level. The players, coaches, the board and even the parents have a lot of what to do.
“They have to create time for the children, even we that are international Athletes we also have out part to play by supporting those upcoming athletes and the young ones out there. I think with this the Sport will grow in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.”
“There are several ways the grassroot table tennis can be improved in Nigeria, Firstly Sports council have a lot of work to do by providing standard facilities and also providing the right schedule for the Athletes and coaches also.”
