OVERVIEW /INTRODUCTION

The Federations and Elite Athletes Department (FEAD) was established with the mandates to coordinate the activities of Elite Athletes (18years and above) and the 38 recognized National Sports Federations, in order to ensure successful participation in their respective National, Continental and International programmes.

The Board of each Federation is elected through a general election, conducted by the respective National Sports Federations, with the Federal Ministry of Sports (FMSD) and the National Olympic Committee (NOC) acting as election monitors. The President is the head of each Board and oversees the implementation of policies of the Federation. The Secretaries General and Treasurers are deployed by the Ministry to serve as the Administrative / Accounting Officers and Accountants of the Federation respectively and coordinates all the activities of the Federation as well as the custodian of the Federation’s records and properties.

The 32 (Thirty-One) National Sports Federations and their locations are tabulated below:

*** (Please note that the Federations asterisked subsumed their Para)

MANDATE

The mandate of the Department is to provide administrative and management services to National Sports Federations and to direct, coordinate, review the budget of each Federation as well as to consistently carry out monitoring and supervision of the activities and programmes of all the Federations locally and internationally, in addition to elite Athletes development.

FUNCTIONS

The Department is saddled with the following responsibilities:

• Initiate policies on National Olympic Sports Federations, National Paralympic Sports Federations and Elite Athletes Development.
• Coordinate the activities of National Sports Federations;
• Coordinate Olympic and Paralympic Sports to which Nigeria is affiliated as a voting member;
• Leverage on programmes that will improve podium success of our elite athletes;
• Ensure sustainable elite Sports development in the country;

• Develop and classify Coaches to ensure athletes have the right basic and advance skills;

• Regulate Coaching as profession and develop a data bank for Coaches;

• Develop and regulate Technical Officials and Sports Officiating in the Country;

• Ensure the training of Athletes, Coaches, Sports Administrators and other Sports Personnel locally and internationally in order to achieve international standard;

• Ensure adequate preparation and participation of Senior National Teams at National, Continental and International Competitions/Games/Championships; and

• Ensure adequate preparations and participation of Team Nigeria at the African Games, Commonwealth, Olympic Games and ParalympicGames.

VISION AND MISSION

Vision: To ensure outstanding podium performance in all competitions by Elite Athletes.

Mission: To create a pool of Elite Athletes with sustainable training and programmes which guarantee podium performance at National and International levels.

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

The Department currently has a Director as its head and has three divisions. The 3 divisions in the FEAD Department are: National Sports Federations, Elite Athletes Development, Coaching and Technical Division headed by Deputy Directors.

The following is the summary of duties of the Director and Divisional heads in the Department:

Director (FEAD)

• General administration and day to day running of the Department;

• Coordinating the activities of the Olympic and Paralympics Sports Federations to which Nigeria is affiliated as a voting member.

• Giving expertise and coordination on all issues pertaining to National Federations, Coaching and Elite Athletes.

• Serving as a link between the Ministry and National Sports Federations;

• Coordinate Camping, Selections, preparations and participation at major International Games/Championships.

• Performing any other duties that may be assigned from time to time.

Deputy Director, Elite Athletes Development (Olympic)

• The Deputy Director, Elite Athletes Development is in charge of the day-to-day administration of the Division

• Formulating policies on Olympic Elite Athletes' development in the country.

• Hosting and attending international competitions of Olympic Sports.

• International Organizations matters (IOC, ANOCA, etc)

• Handling all issues on affiliation to international organizations of Olympic Sports.

- Team Nigeria preparations/camping programmes of Olympic Sports to:

• Olympic Games

• Commonwealth Games

• Africa Games

• Performing any other duty that may be assigned from time to time.

Deputy Director, Coaching and Technical

• Day-to-day administration of the Coaching and Technical Division•

• Developing Coaches to ensure athletes have the required talents, skills etc.

• Classifying Coaches for the various sporting activities.

• Hosting and attending international competitions.

• International Organizations matters; Commonwealth;

• Handling all issues on affiliation to international organizations.

Team Nigeria preparations/camping programmes to:

• Commonwealth Games

• Olympic Games

• Winter Olympic

• Africa Games

• Regulating coaching activities as a profession.

• Performing any other duty that may be assigned.

Organogram

FEAD PROGRAMMES OF ACTIVITIES

National Sports Federations Activities

The Department complies and coordinates competitions and programmes that are either organized or attended by National Sports Federations annually. These championships are held at national, continental and international levels to develop the Sports as well as tailor the athletes to podium performance.

Interactive Meetings with Federation Presidents and Secretaries

The purpose of the Meetings is to discuss on strategic plans for achieving podium success in the National Sports Federations. These meetings are held on a regular basis in order to promote proper synergy between the National Sports Federations and the Ministry.

National Coaches Conference

The purpose of the Conference is to bring all Coaches in Nigeria together to deliberate on issues affecting Coaches and their development in Nigeria. This interactive and networking platform would also expose the Coaches to latest winning strategies.

National Workshop for Technical Officials in Olympic Sports

The purpose of the Workshop is to abreast all Technical Officials in each of the Olympic Sports on new officiating rules and capacity development in their respective Sports.

Specific Seminars for National Sport Federations Secretaries

This is a quarterly Interactive Seminar for National Sport Federations’ Secretaries on Administration, Marketing and Sponsorship, Project Management, Computer Training and other developmental skills that will assist them to effectively manage their various Sports Federations.

National Elite Games

This annual Championship serves as an avenue to assess and select best able elite athletes that would represent Nigeria at International Games.

Training Camp for Middle & Long Distance Runners (Pankshin and Gembu)

The Annual Training Camp is designed as an avenue to develop a road map for talent identification and development of Middle- and Long-Distance Races using the High Altitudes Training Sites in Pankshin, Plateau State and Gembu, Taraba State.

International Games/Championship

The FEAD Department coordinate and ensure adequate preparations and participation of Team Nigeria at the African Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympic Games, and other International Championships attended by the National Sports Federations.

CONCLUSION

The FEAD Department has a lot of opportunities to transform the Federations and Elite Sports when able to surmount the challenges.