Nigeria finally gives netball a home - and women are leading the way

Image by NSC

Nigeria's National Sports Commission has inaugurated the board of the Nigeria Netball Federation, marking a significant moment for a sport that has long operated on the margins of the country's sporting infrastructure.

The inauguration, held on Tuesday May 5, brings netball formally under the governance of the NSC - giving the sport institutional recognition and a structural platform it has never had before.

NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko made clear that the move was driven by one undeniable reality: Nigerian women consistently deliver on the global stage. "We are just coming from the African Wrestling Championships where Nigeria emerged tops with the women winning the majority of the medals," he said. "Even at the just concluded World Athletics Relays, it was the women that put smiles on our faces. When the women are on parade, we go to sleep, rest assured that they will deliver."

With 70% of the new Federation's membership made up of women, Dikko described netball as a sport built for empowerment. He also pointed to untapped potential - noting that calls from prominent Nigerians urging greater prominence for the sport had been a catalyst, and that plans are already in place to take netball into schools and engage players of Nigerian descent in the diaspora who are keen to represent the country.

"There are girls who wouldn't want to play basketball but would readily do netball," he added. "We are also in contact with players of Nigerian descent doing exploits in the diaspora who are keen to represent the nation."

Director-General of the Commission, Hon. Bukola Olopade, emphasised the quality of the Federation's composition. "We don't just want the Federations to be populated by people who have nothing to contribute. I see people here with proven track records in sports," he said, adding that each member would operate on the Commission module — ensuring active, not passive, participation.

NNF President Dr. Esther Aluko, in her acceptance speech, acknowledged the years netball spent without institutional backing. "For decades netball drifted without a voice and without a champion at the level of government that could have reversed its fortunes," she said. "That changed the day the Chairman and the Director-General made the bold, visionary decision to formally bring netball under the governance of the NSC. It gave this sport the institutional legitimacy, government recognition and the structural platform from which everything in the plan is possible."

With the board now in place and ambitions to make Nigeria a global force in the sport, the inauguration signals the start of a new chapter - not just for netball, but for how Nigeria develops and governs women's sports.

Source: NSC