Prof. Olufunmilola Dominic is the Director of Sports, Unilorin Sports Council. In this interview with MIKE ADEYEMI, she speaks about the development of sports in the university as well as how the institution has contributed to the economic developments of Kwara community. Excerpts:
What are the duties of a Sports council in a university system?
The core mandates of a sports council in a university cycles is to manage facilities and university sports.
And when we are talking about university sports, it includes the recreational activities even of the staff now that we have the Nigeria University Staff Games.
So, the sports council is incharge of managing the facilities as well as managing everything that concern university sports and recreation.
How has Unilorin sports council faired in this regard?
Yes, since I came on board early last year and with the institution’s past records, the council has been doing well and I knew you must have had about Unilorin team.
We hosted the West Africa University Games in 2012, and not only that, the facilities you see here were established in 1992 when it hosted NUGA game.
From all these, you cam see that Unilorin sports council under the leadership of the vice chancellor who have be supporting in ensuring that the university facilities are develop.
Not only that, we had recently hosted the National Youth Games. You can imagine a university facility hosting such a sport festival and we ‘ve hosted four out of the five editions.
Unilorin have been able to provide the accommodations, provides the facilities used, apart from baseball that was taken to the stadium and swimming. All other events took place here. So, Unilorin sports council has been doing excellently well.
How many athletes has Unilorin sports council raised to stardom?
If you are talking about that, I that seated before you was once a product of this university and today I’m a stakeholder in sports generally.
I was once a referee in basketball, I had played basketball, I had coached basketball since my coming to the university aside the fact that I have worked in the sports council prior coming here.
I worked in the Niger State sports council for 17 years before crossing down to the university of Ilorin. Last year Higher Institutions Football League which was hosted here, Unilorin came third and the JAMB tournaments that was stagged by the Kwara State Sports Council, Unilorin won it. The team has been doing well in many competition over time.
So, the university has produced great athletes in virtually every spares of sports enclave.
What would you identify has challenges facing unilorin sports council?
You know normally, it’s not a sport council that is designed like the state sports council. It is a University based sport council.
One of the challenges we had is that right now we have teams who could play at the National League, but the rules of the National League is hindering must of our team to play in the league.
For instance, volleyball national team has phases. Our team is suppose to play, but we were told that if you play one game and lost, you will be fined and suspended again.
As a university community, sports to us is a recreation, though we believe that some athletes can come to stardom and earn a living via sports, but the system there does not make it possible for us to play at the league.
Last year we were able to play at the Division II. Players that play for the state has sufficient playing time on like our players. There could be a league at the same time while examination is going on.
University sports is so peculiar that at times coaches are being affected, star athletes are affected. Apart from that, I think they are doing well.
Comparatively, how would you rate Unilorin in terms of sports development amongst its peers?
I think we cannot be 100 percent, but we are 90 percent. We are doing well. Almost every department of the university has a league. There is no time events are not going here.
We have the Vice Chancellor’s cup, we have the staff annual events tagged, ‘Registrar Cup’ and so on.
The little I know, we are second in the whole federation in terms of sports development ranking. Hardly we can have a university doing well like Unilorin. We are doing well and there is unity of purpose.
Is Unilorin sports council has any synergy with Kwara State Sports Council?
Sure. The Director of Sports, Kwara State Sports Council is a good member of our council and we had a good synergy together.
The Kwara State stadium manager and that of ours are working as a team purposely to accomplish even sports development in the state.
How much is the hosting right of last National Youth Game gorge Unilorin?
National youth games is like sports festival, but on youth. We are not part of the participating team, but the university provided the facilities.
The essence of university of Ilorin is to make the institution the centre of sports excellence. What the hosting of youth games cost the university is not quantifiable.
Imagine we provided accommodation for over 3,000 people, how would you quantify that. The university has committed a lot to make it a centre of excellence.
