National Sports Policy Implementation and Nigeria’s Foreign Policy

Abstract

The review of Nigeria's foreign policy objectives, as conducted by the Yar ‘Adua administration, made the articulation of a better image for the country a core foreign policy objective. The Yar ‘Adua administration also formulated the 2009 National Sports Policy with a key objective of using Nigeria's performances in as well as the hosting international sporting events, especially the Olympic Games and the Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup Finals, as a strategy to achieve the aspiration of promoting her image in the international community. However, since the formulation of the 2009 National Sports Policy, Nigeria's performances in these events have not been impressive enough to ensure the promotion of her image in the international community. The study therefore evaluated the implementation of the 2009 National Sports Policy and the challenges of using sports to promote Nigeria's foreign policy. The study found that the implementation of the Policy was limited by the low level of its awareness which hindered the promotion of Nigeria's foreign policy. The study therefore recommended periodic joint monitoring of the implementation of the Policy by relevant stakeholders to ensure the utilisation of the sports policy in promoting Nigeria's foreign policy.