Dayo Akindoju is the sponsor of the Dayak Tennis Open, one
of the ITF Futures which were recently concluded in Abuja, Nigeria's federal
capital.
Naija Tennis Special caught up with him and in an exclusive
chat with our correspondent, he explained why he decided to sponsor such a
capital-intensive tournament.
He also spoke about the tournament serving the purpose for which
it was organized.
|
Nigerian players really need to step up their game. |
Here's an excerpt from the interview:
What influenced the decision to sponsor such a tournament?
Passion... sheer passion! My passion for the game, having
played it for a long time, inspired me to go ahead with the sponsorship of this
tournament. I work in Nigeria, Abuja to be precise and I want Nigerians all
over to know, play the game and be interested. They have to watch it live.
Being able to bring players from all over the world is something we really want
our local stars to appreciate.
The tournament is in its second consecutive year, how would
you rate it?
It has been improving over the years; the quality of
players, the participation of Nigerians... these have improved over the past
two years. In the second week of the ITF Futures, we had so many Nigerians in
the second round which showed just how much the players have improved.
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Dayo Akundoju and some of the attendees at the recently concluded ITF Futures in Abuja. Photo: Ewaoche Ameh |
Are you disappointed that Nigerians are not winning?
No, not at all! This is the real deal. It is not giving me
any concern. If they cannot win, they cannot win. We have players from US,
Canada; it's a world-standard game. It means we don't have the kind of players.
Hopefully, we can win someday. I am really not worried, you cannot win what you
cannot play. They see people who are better than them.
Do you regret sponsoring the tournament?
Not at all! Lots of things are being projected. People came
with different perceptions and they leave with different impressions. A lot of
players are here for the first time and they all want to come back here next
year.
What would be the high point of the sponsorship for you?
For me, the high point would be when a Nigerian wins the
tournament. It will show that we have been able to project one player to the
world.
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Oyinlomo Quadri presents about the best opportunity for a Nigerian female to be among the world's top players. |
Are we looking at a WTA tournament for the women?
No! Because of all the categories of women we have, they're
all older than 25, save for the one in Morocco (Oyinlomo Quadri).
What then do you think is the solution to this challenge?
All we can do now is support the juniors to build them to
understand and be able to play the game now so that when they're about 16, we
can take them to championships outside the country.
You can see the level of tennis we play at the Governor's
Cup and the CBN Open. Even for the men, we have to keep building the junior
stars to be able to take over from the senior players.