Nigeria: Special Olympics – Contingent Set to Surpass Past Mark

Sunleye-Solawumi Olaleye

18 May 2011

The board and management of the Special Olympic Nigeria, SONig, has sent gratitude messages to all its major, and less than major, partners for all the assistance they have been rendering the organisation since it came into the hands of the current team in 2003.

According to Mrs. Folashade Bolumole, the National Director of the body governing special athletes in Nigeria, these companies have been largely responsible for the survival of SONig and the success story that the body has been able to achieve for its athletes in the past few years.

Noting such companies that have come to the assistance of SONig in developing the minds of special athletes and ensuring that they are not left behind in their own arena of global participation in sports, Mrs Bolumole gave special thanks to the likes of GTBank – which she described as their major, major backers – and others like Coca Cola, First Bank, Total, MTN, Union Bank.

Expressing joy over what such companies have done for SONig for special athletes in the past, Mrs. Bolumole noted that with the sponsorship these companies give to individual athletes and teams within the SONig structure, special athletes have been able to win laurels for the country in past international sporting events for their own class of people. She gave the particular example of the Special Olympics, for which they are already in the throes of preparation towards the next edition of it.

“In 2007 in Shanghai, we won four gold, six silver and six bronze medals,” she said. “In the edition before that, in Dublin in 2004, we only had four athletes participating. Now we are preparing for the next edition, taking place in Athens next month, we expect to go for this one with a bigger team. And this is all thanks to our major partners.

“For instance, a partner like GTBank; they are not only sponsoring a team, they are also going to be responsible for the total package of 14 athletes. The 14 they will be responsible for in total financial package are different from the members of the team they are taking on, which is the female table tennis team to the Games.

“So, imagine the table tennis team and 14 athletes out of the total number of 43 that we are taking to Athens out of our financial responsibilities. That is a lot to be said for this particular sponsor.

“There is also Coca-Cola who have taken up the financial responsibility of the football team; male and female of them, Total are taking on three athletes, MTN also three and Union Bank, three too.”

Bolumole also thanked SoulComm, a scientific perception-based management consultants, who she said had been taking care of business for SONig from the very beginning of their taking over the body.

Team SONig will be taking part in six sports at this year’s edition of the games. The sports are badminton, aquatic sports, athletics, basketball, football (male and female) and table tennis.

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