A group of young men have stepped up preparations and are in dire need of sponsorship to ensure that adequate tennis returns to the Federal University of Technology, Akure (FUTA), Nigerian Tennis Live can reliably report.
The group under the aegis of Premier Sports Development consists of sports administrators who are willing to raise the bar of sports in the tertiary institution, especially tennis which they believe has taken a downturn in the Akure-based Nigerian university.
In a chat with our correspondent, Daniel Young who is one of the key members of the organizing team, noted that the idea behind coming up with the FUTA Open was to salvage tennis in the institution.
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| The tournament organizers need sponsors to bring tennis alive at the Federal University of Technology, Akure. |
According to him, tennis used to be one of the sports that put the institution on the spotlight in the past, but the situation has worsened in the past few years, hence the decision to reposition tennis.
“One of the key challenges in repositioning tennis in FUTA is that of sponsorship, we have been receiving empty promises ever since we started out.
“We’ve done stuff on football development in the past, but tennis is something be believe should do well, maybe better in FUTA, that’s the reason we are embarking on this venture.
“To be honest with you, we need sponsors to make this work. We are giving it our best shot and we believe that things will definitely work out well,” Young explained.
Asked what the plan of the organizers was in ensuring that the tournament takes place, he noted that “We are looking at giving out cash, medals and certificates to the winners of the tournament who will comprise of FUTA students and those from neighbouring schools.”