Edun Gives Reason for Sponsoring National Table Tennis tourney

A United Kingdom-based Nigeria-born property expert and Founder of Daniel Ford International, Yemi Edun is venturing into table tennis, not as a player but as a financier of the first Daniel Ford International Elite Youth Championships taking place in Lagos on December 21 to 22. But Edun’s interest in table tennis was borne out of his experience while growing up in the Surulere area of Lagos where the sport was popular among the residents particularly having watched the legendary exploits of former African and Commonwealth champion Atanda Musa in the early 1980s

For Edun, table tennis has always been part of him while growing up.

“Table tennis was widely played at homes and on the streets growing up, but I also lived in Surulere, which was and still is, to some extent, the sports capital of Nigeria. In fact, the National Stadium is also known as Sports City, and my growth in this section of the country made me acutely aware of all things sport, including table tennis. Aside from that, I grew up during a period when table tennis legends like Atanda Musa were routinely featured on the front pages of national newspapers,” he expressed.

On why he is renewing his interest in table tennis now, Edun reacted thus: “Table tennis is an enormously accessible sport. A disused door and broken bits of wood were suitable entry points, with the balls fondly referred to as eggs by us back then due to their appearance and mild fragility.

However, the sport’s accessibility and non-aggressive nature made it a family centered sport, which meant that most Nigerian households, regardless of class, had a tennis table in some form or another.

“So, with that said, there is a nostalgic look back to the glory days of table tennis, as well as an undying love and passion for the sport. We believe that the missing link or void is competition, and that is what we are attempting to bridge by introducing competition into the equation, which we believe will fan the flames that are still present and make it even better.

Asked if the support will be a long haul and not a one-off thing, he said,“If the anticipated passion and interest remains, we will consider making it even bigger and for a much longer period of time. In this scenario, the assistance would be long-term.”

Edun is indeed expecting to provide opportunities for talent to shine from maiden edition of the tournament.

“The aim is to enrich the existing talent pool and provide opportunities for talent to shine. We also believe it would be something that is suitable for the festive season, a good way to round up the year.

In the long run, we hope it will be something that opens annually four – five days before Christmas, and what better way to end the year than with a well-attended and well-organized competition that can only benefit the game, players and community at large. It may also be able to keep some kids off the streets.

“Our objective is to elevate table tennis’s place in Nigeria’s sporting hierarchy and, ideally, bring it back to the times when it was frequently featured in the media. A Nigerian is currently ranked among the top 20 in the world, and I think we can do much better if we show more support for the game.”