By Folusho Alade
The Federal Capital Territory Football Association Chairman, Honourable Adam Mouktar has said the only way to address infrastructural deficit concerns in sport is through the establishment of a Sports Tax Fund.
Speaking to sports journalists during a media parley in Abuja, Moukar insists Nigeria cannot build sporting success without fixing its foundation.
In his words: “I have been advocating for a sports tax fund like how the education tax fund exists.”
“This is the only way to address concerns involving infrastructure shortages, athlete welfare challenges and limitations in grassroots systems responsible for producing future talent”, he said.
According to Mouktar the country has to imbibe a funding structure similar to intervention mechanisms used in other sectors of the economy as sports requires a dedicated and sustainable financial pipeline.
In his opinion such a structure could create a dedicated funding stream for sports infrastructure development from the grassroots level to the national level.
Speaking on the infrastructural gap in the country’s sporting industry especially football, the FCT FA Boss said shortages in facilities has continue to create challenges that extends beyond football and into wider national sports development.
“We have a shortage of facilities, of places where we can play top matches”, he argued.
Advocating for more community sports centres across the Federal capital territory and beyond, Moukhar urge sports administrators and development experts alike to partner with the private sector to develop more sporting facilities as this is the only way to create a sustainable sporting ecosystem that will guarantee podium success.
“Without those structures, the pathway from grassroots participation to elite competition can weaken significantly. Said Mouktar
Mouktar in his address also praised the efforts of private investors in football ownership in Nigeria while calling for more of such investments in the Federal capital territory.
“I am impressed with what is happening in Lagos State and the NPFL,” he said.
“Last season, privately owned Remo Stars F.C. won the league, and now clubs such as Inter Lagos FC, Sporting Lagos FC, Ranchers Bees FC and Doma United FC are on the verge of joining the NPFL. This will increase the number of privately owned clubs in the top flight to eight—an unprecedented achievement in the history of Nigerian football.”
“We want more private investors in the FCT because government-owned clubs can only do so much. With the numerous responsibilities they carry, it becomes difficult to consistently compete with well-funded and professionally managed teams. Private investment is critical if Abuja is to realise its ambition of producing a strong NPFL side once again,” he said.
While enumerating some of the efforts of his administration in creating an enabling environment for football development in the FCT which according to him is evident in the increasing number of football academies and clubs across the nation’s capital, the Chairman said his administration has laid the foundation for football academies and clubs to thrive in the FCT which in turn has helped to take a lot of youths off the streets.
In his words: “We have laid the foundation by creating the right environment, which is why we are witnessing an upsurge in properly structured academies. What we need now is for investors to come in, support these initiatives and help take football development in the FCT to the next level”, Adam Mouktar concluded.
