Hon. Babajimi Benson, the newly installed president of the Nigeria Padel Federation, has set out plans to draw investment, launch development academies and improve sporting facilities as part of a drive to make padel a route to youth empowerment and international competition.
Benson said the federation intends to create a lasting structure for the rapidly expanding sport, covering effective administration, new courts and career opportunities that can allow young Nigerians to progress in sport at home and abroad.
He made the remarks on Thursday after the National Sports Commission inaugurated the federation’s board at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium in Abuja.
Boards for the Nigeria Basketball Federation, Nigeria Arm Wrestling Federation and Nigeria Fencing Federation were inaugurated at the same event.
Benson, who also chairs the House of Representatives Committee on Defence, said he accepted the federation role because of the prospects padel can offer young Nigerians, especially considering their natural athleticism and desire to succeed.
He said the game can lead to far more than a professional playing career, with openings also available in coaching, club administration and international representation for clubs and the country.
“Padel offers a platform for growth and gives them the chance to go into coaching, work with clubs, represent Nigeria or their clubs, and take part in global events,” Benson said.
He added that the sport could help display Nigeria’s deep pool of sporting ability while providing fresh professional options for younger people.
Benson described his appointment as president as an honour carrying major responsibility, saying the federation must do more than stage competitions and instead create a sustainable nationwide sporting movement.
He said Nigeria could not afford to stand aside while padel continues its swift global expansion, with other nations committing resources to its development.
“Nigeria cannot merely observe that expansion. We have to be involved and, in time, become Africa’s leader,” he said.
The new president set out four key targets: growing participation, nurturing players, putting in place an elite competition system and establishing a durable organisation founded on strong governance.
On participation, he said the federation aims to increase the number of players, clubs and playing venues, while spreading the sport beyond Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt into other regions of the country.
Schools, universities, businesses and community groups will be encouraged to take up padel so that it becomes available to a broader range of Nigerians, he added.
In talent development, Benson said opportunities would be created for juniors, women, girls and high-performance competitors, alongside investment in the education of coaches, referees and tournament personnel.
He outlined a pathway in which young athletes can learn the sport, enter competitions, gain national ranking points, raise their level and eventually earn the chance to play for Nigeria internationally.
The federation also plans to introduce domestic tournaments, rankings and championships, while collaborating with the International Padel Federation and African partners to bring Nigerian padel in line with global requirements.
Benson said Nigeria also hopes to become a host destination for leading padel events, creating further openings for players, clubs and those working across the wider sports business.
He said those ambitions would depend on credible administration, dependable information, technology, strategic alliances and a commercial framework capable of bringing in sponsors and investors.
“Enthusiasm by itself cannot sustain sport. We require sound governance, technology, dependable data, partnerships and a viable commercial structure,” he said.
Benson pointed to Nigeria’s sporting potential as a central attraction for potential investors, arguing that the country’s youthful population can thrive in padel if it receives adequate facilities, coaching and competitive access.
He said the federation would build on the expanding base of clubs and players, particularly in Lagos, Abuja and Port Harcourt, as well as the developing competition calendar and emerging national rankings.
He expressed confidence that a coordinated plan would bring more Nigerians into the game and generate jobs and commercial prospects throughout the sector.
Over the next five years, Benson said, the aim is to move padel from a developing activity into a recognised national sport, with thousands of additional participants, a larger club network and Nigerian coaches and referees pursuing professional careers.
He also wants Nigerian juniors competing around Africa, national teams entering international events with confidence and the country becoming one of the continent’s foremost padel powers.
Speaking for the presidents of the padel, arm wrestling, basketball and fencing federations, Benson pledged that the incoming leadership teams would respect ethical principles and good governance while strengthening the sports environment.
He said the four federations would seek to give young Nigerians the chance to develop their abilities and build lasting livelihoods through sport.
“On behalf of every member of the newly inaugurated committees, we will uphold ethics and good governance, and we will improve the sporting ecosystem,” he said.
Benson thanked the Federal Government and the National Sports Commission for placing their trust in the new federation leaders, promising that they would work together to advance their individual sports.
He stressed that padel’s progress in Nigeria would rely on cooperation among clubs, athletes, coaches, investors, government bodies and the wider sporting community.
“The federation provides the platform, but every one of us owns the ecosystem,” he said.
He urged stakeholders to back club development, expand opportunities for women and girls, invest in young athletes and establish a professional network of coaches and officials.
Benson said the central objective was to give young Nigerians a sport they can enjoy, compete in, use to establish careers and represent proudly on the world stage.
He said that combining ambition with discipline, excellence with inclusion and vision with practical action could make padel a major Nigerian sport and establish the country as an African force.
National Sports Commission chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko announced a plan to generate at least two million sports-related jobs and increase the sector’s contribution to Nigeria’s gross domestic product to three per cent.
He said the commission is implementing reforms intended to turn sport into an engine for economic expansion, employment and global competitiveness, rather than treating medals as its sole measure of success.
Dikko said the commission’s blueprint, the Redeemed Hope Initiative for the Nigerian Sports Economy, is designed to build the domestic sports industry, bring in investment and create lasting prospects for athletes and other workers in the sector.
He said the NSC has mapped out more than 28,000 employment roles connected with sport, including direct, indirect and induced jobs.
He also revealed that Nigeria collected 375 medals in different sports at international events during 2025, describing the total as unprecedented.
The NSC chairman called on the new federation executives to make their programmes consistent with the commission’s objectives through grassroots development, stronger administration and clearer routes to international competition for athletes.
“When the federations succeed, we succeed,” he said, underlining the need for collaboration between the commission and the federations.
On facilities, Dikko said presidential approval had been obtained for a sports infrastructure development bond, with an initial target of raising more than N1 trillion through the capital market.
He said the money would be used to construct and refurbish sporting venues nationwide, including facilities serving communities and schools.
Those investments, Dikko said, are expected to improve training environments, enhance Nigeria’s ability to stage international events and broaden opportunities in numerous sports.
He appealed for collective action to build Nigerian sport and unlock its capacity to create jobs, attract capital and promote national unity.
National Sports Commission director-general Hon. Bukola Olopade called on sports federations to embrace unity and settle disagreements peacefully, saying cooperation remains vital to the growth of Nigerian sport.
He praised the Nigeria Basketball Federation’s new leaders for holding a peaceful election despite the controversies that had previously affected the federation.
Olopade said the commission had sought to address administrative disputes across sport, pointing to its interventions in judo and football as examples of efforts to secure peaceful outcomes.
“Sport is about family, and we must remain united at all times,” he said.
He also referred to the NSC’s regulatory authority under Section 16 of the legislation establishing the commission, saying it permits the licensing of sports federations and the revocation of licences where required.
Olopade explained that some of the federations inaugurated at the event were formed through NSC appointments rather than elections.
The director-general said basketball, fencing, arm wrestling and padel each have the capacity to create work, empower young Nigerians and improve the country’s record in international competitions.
He identified fencing, arm wrestling and padel as disciplines with potential for medals at the African Games, while expressing optimism that basketball would also increase its medal returns under its new administration.
Olopade urged the incoming boards to focus on effective management, player development and collaboration as they work to strengthen their respective sports.
