Nigeria Table tennis not at the top yet – Taiwo Mati

The reigning ITTF African Youth Champion, Taiwo Mati, has called on stakeholders to be actively involved in the growth of the sport from the grassroots level.

In a chat with BRL, the African youth singles and doubles champion disclosed that for table tennis to develop in Nigeria, it must be a joint responsibility of key stakeholders including government, coaches and CEOs of sports councils.

“According to my own experiences and what I have seen so far, the table tennis situation in Nigeria is not that bad, but not too good either.

“We still have a long way to go; for both youth and international players. We still have a lot to improve and implement in the Federation so that we can be at the top levels.”

“Everyone should be responsible for the development of table tennis in Nigeria from the grassroots level to the higher level. Players, coaches, board and even parents have a lot to do.

– They have to make time for the children, even though we international athletes have our own mission by supporting future athletes and young people. I believe that with this, Sport will grow in Nigeria and Africa as a whole.

“There are many ways to improve grassroots table tennis in Nigeria. Firstly the Sports Council has a lot to do by providing standard facilities and also a proper schedule for athletes and coaches.”