The government have been urged to hands-off from sports management to enable Nigeria benefit from sports merchandising.

This was a consensus reached at the recent BusinessDay Sports conference held in Lagos.

Merchandising is a practice that involves the creation and sale of branded products. The products bear the name and logo of the sporting team.

“The government should hand over sports for the professionals to do what’s possible and provide an enabling environment for these professionals to do their sports,” Seun Fakorede, former commissioner for youth and sports, Oyo State.

According to him, government’s business is in providing infrastructure for sports. “…except we are deceiving ourselves, the government has no business in sports.

“So, until we accept and get that right, it continues to be the same problem and we need the same standards and practices,” Fakorede said.

He also touched on the need to make sporting facilities attractive to young people and that regular sporting activities are required to put the stadiums to use.

Izuchukwu Nwankpa, founder/CEO, Golvia, said content is currency, and that talent is not just seen on the field alone. “Talent is discovered through our screens, our mobile screens.”

He said that sport as an industry drives talent, visibility and engagement. According to him, platforms like TikTok and Instagram have shown how content drives influence on social media.

Nwankpa said that the core of sport is content, and that the currency to trade in sport is content. According to him, trend drives opportunity.

According to him, Golvia was designed to give opportunities to everybody within the sporting ecosystem to get some level of monetization and visibility.

“As a coach, as a regulator, as an athlete, this is the right platform for you to come and score your dream goals,” he said.

Nwankpa disclosed that Golvia vision is to be the one social media platform to connect athletes, clubs, and fans. According to him, the platform will connect the power of sports to direct commerce, talent development and economic opportunity.

“Connecting athletes, clubs, brands and businesses to a digital ecosystem that empowers growth and innovation in the sports industry,” he said.