The leadership of the squash section of the Lagos Country Club have pledged their commitment to the game in Nigeria with more international tournaments as well as encouraging more women to play.
Squash was introduced to Nigeria in the early 1970s and coordinated by the Nigeria Squash Federation as well as other sports associations and clubs such as the Professional Squash Association and Nigeria Squash Professional Association which was later established to help in the promotion and development of the sports in the country.
The social club has members from different walks of life who gather to play at leisure and also compete at their facility in Ikeja GRA. Their mandate was again laid to bare during the weekend at the celebration of their one-day chairman, Akingbade Adekola, who noted that more actions are needed to support women in the game.
“A lot of ladies don’t show interest in the game because it is so physically engrossing. But in recent times, this section has tried to encourage more female participation in the tournaments we organise and by even bringing our wives and children to also play and bond,” Adekola said.
“Beyond the game as well, we also celebrate each other like this which allows us to x-ray allow lives beyond the game of squash which is why we usually gather here. So, being one-day chairman is a whole lot because basically, everyone knows who you are in order to build relationships and network beyond playing squash.”
Also, the chairman of the section ‘Semoore Badejo added that the section will keep organising tournaments which will help players improve their world rankings.
“We have had the Professional Squash Association tournament for like 16 years and it is a tournament that matters in the rankings of professional players in the country,” Badejo said.
“We also have some other invitational tournaments in which all squash playing clubs in Nigeria do participate and it helps our players to improve as well. Now, we have two PSA tournaments in a year and we have also encouraged different age-grade competitions as well.”
“The good news now is that it is now an Olympic sport and we can achieve a lot more in the years to come.”
