By Aderonke Ojo
Chairman of Squash in Diaspora and former Nigerian national number-one player, Friday Odeh, has said the organisation’s long-term objective is to take squash to every part of Nigeria and make the sport accessible to children regardless of their economic background.
Odeh spoke in Abuja during the seventh edition of the Squash in Diaspora U-11, U-13 and U-17 Boys and Girls Tournament, which attracted nearly 100 young players.
He said the initiative was established to give back to the sport and provide opportunities for children, particularly those from less privileged backgrounds, to develop an interest in squash.
“This event is what we’ve been doing every year for the past seven years. It’s trying to give back to all the kids. We developed Squash in Nigeria to help less privileged people get into squash and make it affordable,” Odeh said.
According to him, the programme has produced several top Nigerian players since its establishment, while the quality and maturity of the tournament have continued to improve.
“For the past seven years, we’ve seen the progression. We’ve seen the improvement and also the maturity of the event itself. A lot of the top players right now came out of our programme,” he said.
Odeh said the organisation wanted to take squash beyond its traditional centres and ensure that children in every state had an opportunity to discover the sport.
“We want to bring every state in the country to play squash. Kids in every state should know what the game is all about. We just want to develop squash in every nook and cranny of Nigeria,” he said.
He said the decision to introduce the U-11 category was part of the organisation’s strategy to identify talent at primary-school level.
“That’s why we put the Under-11 category, where you get the little ones to come in. Not just for the senior kids, we want the little ones to come in from primary school,” he said.
Odeh explained that early exposure to the sport would give young players more time to gain experience and improve before progressing to higher age categories.
The 2026 tournament is the first edition to be staged in Abuja after six previous editions were held mainly in Lagos and other parts of the South-West.
Odeh said the move to Abuja was part of the broader effort to take the competition and development of squash to other regions.
The tournament is being held as a singles competition with an open draw, while state-by-state competitions remain under the Nigeria Squash Federation.
