Essence of Sports are the athletes- Owan Enoh… Wows to pursue better welfare packages for athletes

Oru Leonard 

Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh has said that without the athletes, there would be no need for sports, adding that consequently, it’s important to assist them compete in the best conditions possible.

Emphasizing the need to provide proper welfare packages and insurance coverage for athletes for them perform at optimal levels, Enoh said, “Welfare for athletes and insurance schemes rank amongst my priorities for sports in the country, because the very essence of sports are the Athletes primarily,” Enoh said.

“We are going to work to the best of our abilities to ensure we provide our athletes with welfare packages and insurance coverage that will catalyze their ability to perform. It’s not right for athletes to be owed and we want to bring a change to how they are treated and managed.”

Enoh expressed concerns about the state of health of retired sportsmen, stating that proper planning and long lasting policies are needed to stem the tide of ill heath amongst retired athletes.

“We are concerned about the state of health of our heroes past. We don’t want them to suffer health consequences in their retirement. We will look at innovative, and long lasting solutions to solve this problem.”

Senator Enoh has asked all sports federations to send a comprehensive report on their activities within a fortnight, before he will schedule a meeting to discuss prospective objectives, and targets for the federations.