Àtúnkọ́ Unity Cup: Making Sports Viable for All.

Àtúnkọ́ Unity Cup: Making Sports Viable for All.

Over the weekend, I was on field to watch the quarter finals of the Àtúnkọ́ Unity Cup - ohh, such great joy seeing all these talents play ~ Hon. Henrich.

Today, I am honestly proud of what the Henrich Initiative/ Henrich FC team and I have been able to do with sports development at the community level.

I must confess that even though I do not engage professionally in any major sporting activity – I have a genuine love for every form of athleticism.

For those who do not know – I run a club – known as Henrich FC based in Ikere. 

Currently, I sponsor the Atunko Unity Cup taking place across the three Local Government Areas (Ikere, Ise, Ekiti South West) that make up Ekiti South Federal Constituency 1.

The competition is the latest in the series of competitions that I have promoted in the last four years.

(PS: IG users - Please head to Facebook or LinkedIn for the rest of this article) 

Four years ago when I started sponsoring football competitions and advanced to starting a club – it was defined by the following factors;

i)                    A need to improve harmony in the community

ii)                   Reduce unemployment

iii)                 Harness and develop individual talents

iv)                 Reduce crime rates

 

In two years, we have built a team that recognises, nurtures and supports football talents. In our own little way we have taken no less than 20 persons from the unemployment pool and helped them incentivise their skills.

We have also exposed no less than 10 coaches and 3 football administrators to world class coaching trainings and facilitated the training of one for an advanced coaching training.

I do not say these things to count them as achievements but to highlight the relevance of an otherwise undermined sector as 'Sports' in Nigeria.

Although, we cannot fully assess the impact of sports on Nigeria’s economy – it is noteworthy that sports, computed as part of the entertainment and recreation sector, still contributes its widow’s mite to the GDP.

For me – a core part of my legislative interests is to find ways to improve investments in sports.

As a lawmaker, I intend to help formulate and drive the implementation of a sports policy that mandates sporting activities in primary, secondary, and tertiary educational institutions as well as promoting local sports development.

The bill/policy document will also mandate tertiary institutions to give scholarships and other concessions on the basis of sporting achievements.

This would provide support for such talents to pursue their educational goals and also continue their sports career so they can become future Tobi Amusans. 

I understand that finance is a major impediment to the growth of sports in the country, hence, as part of oversight, I will be hoping to take a cursory look at the various sports associations and see ways we can attract more government and private funding to support these national sporting bodies.

I'll pause my thoughts here and hope that everyone grasp the ideas expressed here.

We are heading to the Green Chambers with a plan - and we can make it work together. 

Join the Àtúnkọ́ Movement Now.

Hon. Henrich Akomolafe

House of Representatives, 

Ekiti South Federal Constituency 1, 

PDP Candidate, 2023.