Abuja, Nigeria – The Federal Government is considering integrating training programmes of the National Institute for Sports (NIS) into its Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) initiative to expand employment opportunities for young Nigerians and address skills shortages in the sports industry.
The Minister of Education, Dr Maruf Tunji Alausa, disclosed this on October 30, 2026, during a meeting with the Director-General of the NIS, Comrade Philip Shaibu. The discussions focused on strengthening cooperation between education and sports institutions and creating vocational pathways for young people interested in sports-related careers.
Alausa said the proposed integration could cover basic sports training, coaching and the maintenance of sports facilities, subject to further consultations and the necessary approvals. He said the arrangement could enable trainees to access programmes through NIS centres in eight states, with some courses lasting up to six months.
The minister also highlighted a sports education curriculum developed in collaboration with regulatory bodies, sports experts, private-sector representatives and the National Sports Commission. The curriculum covers sports and exercise science, coaching, sports management, sports medicine, technology and data analytics, as well as sports law.
According to Alausa, vocational training in areas such as pitch maintenance, groundskeeping and games instruction could help address workforce shortages and improve the management of sports facilities. Shaibu welcomed the proposed collaboration, identifying the shortage of qualified games masters and certified coaches as a major challenge to grassroots sports development.
He said the institute had trained more than 1,000 coaches within a year and expanded its operations across Nigeria’s six geopolitical zones. Shaibu also cited the NIS 2025–2035 strategic plan, which aims to strengthen the institution’s sustainability, and called for its basic training programme to be included in the federal TVET scheme.
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