The President of AFFAN urges the private sector and NGOs to support the association in sports activities
The President of the Association of Former Female Athletes of Nigeria (AFFAN), Esther Aluko, has urged the private sector and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) to support the association.
Aluko told the Nigerian News Agency in Abuja on Friday that this would help improve the development of female athletes in the country.
He added that the association needed the support of all sports stakeholders, companies, as well as the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development.
Aluko said the association is committed to achieving its goals of discovering, educating, empowering and mentoring young women through sports activities and programs.
He noted that this would be done using the wealth of experience, knowledge and connections of its members.
“I want to call on well-meaning Nigerians, philanthropists and businesses to support AFFAN in its laudable program of helping young athletes become better people, succeed in sport, education, career and life. of family. and responsible Nigerian citizens.
“AFFAN provides life skills education and mentoring opportunities to athletes throughout their careers to help them develop a solid understanding of how their skills in sport can work, such as fair play, teamwork, respect, discipline and integrity.
“Excellence, friendship and equality can be promoted and transferred to other vocations and prepare athletes for a smooth transition to retirement in the future.
“We see many female athletes dropping out of school and active sport participation due to lack of funding and mentorship.
“They are unable to cope with the academic challenges in the tough economic and other challenges they face,” Aluko said.
He also said that AFFAN provided tips and backup advice to athletes to avoid the same mistakes that some of its members made during their time due to lack of guidance and mentoring.
“AFFAN members would further encourage their influence as role models and mentors, women’s participation in sports at all levels in a safe and supportive environment.
“We also saw the need to ameliorate the unhealthy effect of the challenges faced by female athletes and decided to help them maximize their potential in sport and education through our mentorship and research services. potential female athletes.
“We are also aware that a number of female athletes go through unpleasant challenges, ranging from sexual harassment, abuse and violence in and out of camp, and when and where female role models are absent, the female athlete becomes vulnerable. to any type of abuse,” Aluko said.
