By Paul Joseph
International sports governance expert, Dr. Donald Rukare, has urged Nigerian sports federations to develop clear policies on social media and the responsible use of artificial intelligence (AI) as part of efforts to modernise sports administration.
Rukare, who spoke at the end of a two-day governance and leadership workshop organised by the Nigerian Olympic Committee (NOC) in Abuja, said sports organisations must adapt to the realities of the digital era and use emerging technologies to improve their operations.
The workshop was supported by Olympic Solidarity of the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and attended by presidents of various national sports federations.
According to Rukare, social media has become central to modern sports administration, making it necessary for federations to establish policies that guide its responsible use.
“These days we’re now in the 21st century, we’re living through a digital era,” Rukare said, adding that social media and artificial intelligence were increasingly playing important roles in society and sports.
He said federations should also consider how to engage young people who understand digital platforms and can help sports organisations use social media responsibly.
Rukare further challenged sports administrators to prepare their organisations for electronic governance and the growing application of artificial intelligence.
“It was a very important topic, and we all agree that there’s a need for all of us in the sports sector, especially the federations, to have social media policies, responsible use of social media, responsible use of artificial intelligence,” he said.
He added that technology should be deployed to make the administration of sports federations more efficient and effective.
The expert said the workshop also addressed a broad range of governance issues, including ethics, transparency, accountability, compliance with good governance principles, federation management, the roles of presidents and secretaries-general, athlete representation and women’s participation.
He said participants were also exposed to the importance of strategic planning, adherence to federation constitutions, annual meetings, annual reports, audits and sound financial governance.
Rukare disclosed that between 35 and 40 federation presidents participated actively in the two-day programme, describing their engagement as encouraging.
He said the feedback from participants showed that many found the training useful and expressed interest in having similar programmes extended to other members of their federations.
The Ugandan national said he was leaving Abuja with optimism that the lessons from the workshop would contribute to improved governance across Nigeria’s sports federations.
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