A Deputy commissioner of the Nigeria Police Force (NPF) , Patrick Atayero has said the Nigeria Police Force is replacing old and aging athletes by sending them to National Institute of Sport (NIS) for training to become coaches and sports managers.
Atayero said this while fielding questions from sports journalists on Monday at the closing ceremony of the 5th edition of the One Service One Medal (OSOM) at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
According to him Sports managers are responsible for a wide range of organizational duties.
His words: “ Whether running a professional sports team, a collegiate club team, or anything in between, sports managers serve as the glue that ties the athletes to the organization itself.
“ Specifically, we want our old and aged athletes to become sport managers as professionals who will involve in the oversight of nearly all aspects of all athletic program’s competition.
“ This include athletic training, providing resources for athlete education, ensuring team and coach compliance, even fostering interest for our team or club in all geopolitical zones,” he said.
“However, we are replacing our athletes and sending both old and aged to the National Institute of Sport (NIS) to go and acquire training to become coaches as well as sport managers.
Speaking further about the forthcoming Nigeria Police Annual Games, Atayero said the games event date is yet to be confirmed but the officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force are already preparing up for the games.
“Our athletes both men and women are already preparing for the forthcoming event.
“ Before the end of Ramadan season, we shall be coming up with the game features and venue but plans are at advanced stage. The event will hold this year, “ he said.
He added that they have achieved one of the objectives of OSOM game which is to discover athletes for national team.
“ It’s always our joy to allow our athletes to participate on the global stage and it brings us a lot of joy and we’re ready anytime the federation call, we’re always willing to release our players,” he said.
He also commended the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Alkali Baba for his full support, with that they were able to maintain their stronghold at the OSOM Games .
Many police officers are happy that they showcased their God given talents in Abuja.
Various Military and Para military agencies that participated in the OSOM Games including the Nigeria Correctional Service, Nigeria Custom Service, Nigeria Police Force, Nigeria Navy, Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps among others.
A total of 17 sports feature in the this year’s events including Athletics, Swimming, Taekwondo, Weightlifting, Tug of War,, Chess, Squash, Scrabble.
Others are Golf, Tennis,Beach Volleyball, Boxing Handball,football,Shooting, Table Tennis and Badminton.
The 5th edition of the OSOM games which started on March 30, 2022 ended on Monday the 4th of April.
