US-based Nigerian tennis player, Sadiq Tswako is bewildered by the inability of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF) to keep a database for the players.
The Criminal Justice graduate noted, during an Instagram Live session with Nigeria Tennis Live, that the players need the federation more during this period of lockdown necessitated by the coronavirus pandemic.
He noted that in the United States, for instance, the United States Tennis Association (USTA) has been sending messages of hope and encouragement since the players have been home.
According to the ‘LC to the World’ crooner, getting such messages from the NTF would have gone a long way to help the players feel loved and cared about in such a trying period.
But he says even if the federation were to do this, there is no database for the players to be able to achieve this.
“If you go online, you’ll easily find the database of players from different countries, but this is not happening to our tennis.
“Does the NTF even have a database for all our players? Do they have their phone numbers and addresses to be able to trace them? That’s where we should start from, and see how to make things better.
“Even if the NTF is not giving the players palliatives, encouraging mails from top Nigerian players will go a long way in helping them feel good this period. It’s really tough everywhere,” an emotional Tswako opined.
The former national junior tennis player also added that some of the foreign-based players can be approached to help out some of those who are still struggling at home.
He said: “Some of them will be of help if we talk to them. I got a lot of help from these guys when I came in here and I believe they can still do same.”