After 61 years Of Nigerian Sports, there is no hope yet for freedom from the government.
As currently constituted, sports is a leisure event despite its long list of achievements for the country.
A look at the top sports will leave you with the stranglehold of government from football where 80% of the teams are owned by states to Athletics where rich states poach the biggest talents for the sports festival.
Basketball has the same faith with an appreciable number of private teams.
In June 2020 the Federal Executive Council reclassified sports from mere recreation to business.
Sport is now business in Nigeria in principle with no policy to drive it yet.
On September 14th, 2020 the sports minister, Sunday Dare declared that Nigeria generates $ 350 million in revenue.
In comparison, The figure is a paltry sum to countries with Nigeria’s credentials in sports.
A year later in July 2021, the policy still moving at snail’s speed, another of the policies to drive Nigeria forward, the National Sports Commission bill witnessed a hearing from the Senate Committee on Sports.
The NSC serves as a channel to bring professionals into sports management, leaving the Ministry of Sports with just a supervisory role.
61 Years Of Nigerian Sports: Sports Policy Making Background In Nigeria
Several sports policies have been designed to promote sports development in the
country. The first was the National Sports Policy in 1989, revised in 2003, and
revised again in 2009. Also, several reports and advisory committees have also contributed to the
efforts to create a vibrant sports sector, including the following:
a. 2003 President Obasanjo Sports Policy Review Report.
b. Vision 2010 Sports Development Strategy Report.
c. 2009 Presidential Advisory Committee on Sports Report.
d. Vision 2020 Sports Development Strategy Report.
e. 2014 National Physical Education and School Sports Policy.
f. 2016 Ministerial Report on Sports.
Sports Sponsorship and Nigeria Laws.
Sponsorship is tax allowed only if it forms part of the operational cost or is used to generate revenue for the company and must be reasonable, necessary, exclusive, and be evidenced before it can be claimed for tax according to the Company Income Tax Act.
There hasn’t been any special order, law, or regulation talking about any firm that goes into sports development.
If it is a pioneer venture then it gets a 5-year tax haven.
And donations are NOT ALLOWED for tax purposes except…
It is NOT MORE THAN 10% of the company’s profit.
It is NOT CAPITAL in nature.
If a firm must donate, it has to be to an APPROVED body.
Like the Muslim Society of Nigeria, Christian Council, Boys Brigade, Girls Guide, Red Cross, and something that sounds like a NATIONAL SPORTS LOTTERY FUND.
However, if these 2 parameters are not met but the company can prove that what it did was part of its Corporate Social Responsibility then it will be allowed.
Sports Independence: The Way Forward
For a country with a 42.54 percent youth population, Nigeria is losing out at tapping into its fountain of youth as sports are just for recreation.
Tax rebates also seek to reduce the percentage of government ownership for sports teams while letting them concentrate on facilities.
Furthermore, Nigeria can also initiate incentive policies and the role of government in establishing sports facilities not just for talent mining but for public recreation, and health, and building a sports enthusiast base that will elicit the equity of brand partners.
The Final Draft will go through the full process of interrogation by the General Public and the
National Council of Sports (NCS) before presentation to and approval by the Federal Government, through its Federal Executive Council.