By Victor Okoye
President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation (NTF), Victor Ochei, has unveiled plans to boost youth interest and expand participation in tennis nationwide.
Ochei told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Wednesday that the new board would prioritise grassroots development and structured growth initiatives.
He said the federation was committed to repositioning tennis through innovative reforms and sustainable long-term strategies across the country.
According to him, a central registration platform will be introduced for players, assigning each a unique identification number to strengthen data management and access.
“We are building a modern system that captures every player and connects them to opportunities across Nigeria,” Ochei said.
“We want every registered tennis player to have a unique number to ease participation, rankings and access to competitions,” he added.
The NTF boss reaffirmed his commitment to sports development, recalling his investments in youth programmes while serving as a lawmaker in Delta.
“I have always believed in using sports as a tool to empower young people and transform communities,” he said.
He said that he sponsored athletes and teams to international competitions in Algeria, South Africa, Germany and Brazil to boost exposure.
“At every opportunity, we must give our athletes the platform to compete globally and realise their full potential,” he said.
At the grassroots, Ochei said his annual Village Unity Cup had continued to promote peace, unity and youth engagement.
He added that he established a stadium and sports development centre to discover and train young talents professionally.
Looking ahead, he said the federation was developing a 10-year Strategic Tennis Growth Plan from 2026 to 2036.
“Our focus is clear—identify talents early, nurture them properly and build a pipeline of future champions,” Ochei said.
He said the plan would target age groups from four to 18 years, with emphasis on schools nationwide.
“We will take tennis to schools, communities and homes to ensure no talent is left undiscovered,” he added.(NAN)
Edited by Joseph Edeh
