Former Director General of the National Sports Commission, Mallam Al-Hassan Yakmut told ACLSports.com that the leadership of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation as well as its board members is doing a great job in returning the sport to the limelight.
Yakmut said Nigeria stands a chance of winning an African Championship in four years time and appearing at the biggest sports event; Olympics eight years from now.
He described the Volleyball League initiated by Musa Nimrod-led administration as a rekindling of the bright days of previous years.
The former professional volleyball player said, “I think it’s the rekindling of the bright days of the previous years we had. I was excited too and my mind went back to about 25 to 30 years ago, we were doing this kind of business, it was actually exciting.”
“It’s also a good experience to see this happening now and I think with little time, we’ll get to the promise land. The leadership of the federation and the board are doing a great job, returning volleyball to the limelight of Nigeria sports,” he added.
“I see Nigeria Volleyball at the Olympics in eight years while on the African championship winning in 4 years.”
He disclosed that the foundation currently laid by the federation will raise Nigeria from its current low ranking on the African continent.
“Nigeria Volleyball is far below the previous record on the African continent. But I think the foundation that is being laid now is a positive development towards getting to the first three we used to be some years back.”
Commenting on the Nigeria Volleyball League, Yakmut said, “The organization of the league is above average. But the performance of the players have given room for some more technical input at training sessions in order to meet the competing forces in the African continent. But again the most encouraging aspect of it is the age bracket of the current player.”
