Aransiola calls for investment in boxing

National boxing head coach, Samson Aransiola has called for proper development of the sport in line with trends in other countries through a massive investment in human resources, facilities and equipments . Aransiola, who appeared before the Presidential Committee investigating reasons why Nigerian contingent to the Athens Olympic Games flopped, harped on the need to workout a welfare scheme for national boxers when they are still alive.

"Boxers need something to fall back on after their active days especially those who have no flair for coaching or cannot engage in academic work. The Nigeria Amateur Boxing Association, NABA should pay should pay the fees and/ or cost of apprenticeship for any trade they choose to learn. Any boxer who has represented the country in any major competition such as the Olympics, Commonwealth Games, All Africa Games and the World Championships should be eligible for the scheme," he told Nigeriasports.com

His testimony, which dwelt taken through the way forward for boxing, centered on sugested ways of monitoring boxers, training plan, competitions, preparations for international competitions, welfare coaching pattern and coaches/ referees relationship.

In one breadth, he told the panel there is need to declare any new talent discovered a national material and monitored.

"The present system of not knowing what our national boxers do except when they come to national camp is not the the way forward. Many of our talented boxers in the past have lived short of expectation because of bad living patterns. But with a monitoring team in place, the boxers will be guided in and outside the training centres and this system will enhance their performance," he said.

And in another breadth, Aransiola said that the present idea of the nation’s retiring boxers turning coaches without adequate training as coaches is not good enough.

"Apart from this, we need to formulate a pattern of coaching which will be adopted throughout the country. We need to emulate Cuba whose coaches were trained by the Russians in the early sixties but decided to adopt a more aggressive pattern different from the Russian text book system."

He then gave an 8- point agenda for the sport.

1. We need more local competitions at the grassroots level. That is, inter- zonal competitions, inter club competitions and open competitions.

2. Our camping must be continuous and during the camping, there should be continuous trials.

3. Our coaches should be up dated with modern knowledge by attending coaching clinics, seminars and by exposing them to international competitions.

4. We need more modern boxing equipments and our boxing gym should be well equipped.

5. Our boxers need more international exposures.

6. We need more of our referees and judges on the international level by sending them for seminars, attending congresses on boxing officially.

By Eddie Akalo in Lagos

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