For the first time in the history of Nigeria's National Development Plans, Sports is now included as a business alongside an ambitious plan to inject N80 billion into sports development over a period of four years (2021-2025).

Recall that in the Economic Recovery and Growth Plan (ERGP) 2017-2020, Sports was totally excluded and ended up with zero budget.

The approval reclassifying Sports as a business by President Muhammadu Buhari last year after the presentation of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development to the Federal Executive Council was instrumental to bringing sports into the business category in the budgeting process. 

The reclassification of Sports as business and not recreation paved the way for sports in the National Development Plan. The second boost for this new budget is the efforts by the Ministry to deliver a National Sports Industry Policy (NSIP).

The Minister had championed the need to build a business model around Nigeria's Sports Development with the mantra of Sports-As-Business (SaB).

Working with critical stakeholders, a final draft of the policy is under review by the Ministry of Justice.

The NDP 2021-2025 harped on the legal and regulatory frame work needed to drive Sports as business, , the Sports industry and the budget approved.

The NDP also gave Youth development a boost of N60 billion earmarked for youth development focusing on building robust MSME growth, entrepreneurship and overall human capital development now classified under 'social development'. This has created a record N140bn funding pool for Youth and Sports combined.