Sunday Dare, the Minister of Sports, Youth, and Social Development, has called on tertiary institutions in the country to rework their curriculum to train physical health educators towards harnessing entrepreneurial opportunities in sports.
Mr. Sunday stated this in Zaria, Kaduna, while speaking at the 50th National Conference of the National Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD)
In the conference titled “Business potentials and tapping in the profession of physical, health education recreation, sports, and dance,” Mr. Sunday said the draft National Sports Industry Policy developed by the ministry in collaboration with the Nigeria Economic Summit Group had re-grouped sports from recreation to business.
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Mr. Sunday, who was represented by Olawale Moronkola, the director-general of the National Institute for Sports, said the policy intended to turn sport into an activity for empowerment, development, and growth through the sports industrialisation agenda.
He described sports as a big-time business with many entrepreneurial opportunities to explore, including selling and marketing (products, rights, and services) and running gym/fitness centres.
He gave more examples of other areas sports can create wealth; he highlighted sports media, sports equipment manufacturing, sports clubs, and consultancy services, among others.
The minister appealed to tertiary institutions to arrange a curriculum that aligns with the latest sports and sports business trends.
