Chinedu Ezeala-Ogundare, the Secretary-General of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation, on Tuesday in Abuja said the federation had no funds to support its teams to attend major competitions.
Ezeala-Ogundare told the News Agency of Nigeria that adequate funds were essential to taking part in various competitions.
“This is necessary if the country hopes to improve its rating in the world of table tennis,” he said.
NAN reports that the International Table Tennis Federation Africa Senior Championships has been scheduled to hold in Cairo, Egypt from January 23 to 29.
But, as at Tuesday, the Nigerian team was not sure of its participation.
The NTTF secretary-general said the federation had no funds to attend the competition.
Ezeala-Ogundare however said the African Table Tennis Federation had given the NTTF up till January 15 to present teams for the event.
“We are running behind schedule as the competition is billed to commence in less than two weeks from now,” Ezeala-Ogundare said.
He appealed to the National Sports Commission to come to the federation’s aid.
The federation secretary-general said it was important Nigeria attended the competition as it would serve as qualifiers for this year’s World Championships scheduled for April in China.
He said: “The tournament will serve as a prerequisite for any team to be part of the 2015 World Championships in China.
“It will also improve the country’s chances of getting a better rating in the world.”