The Nigerian Tennis Federation (NTF) has announced that International Tennis Federation (ITF) coach Illou Lonfo will be visiting the country between the 10th and 15th of March to assess the growth of Tennis in Nigeria, help design programmes aimed at improving the level of coaching as well as help foster relationships with key stakeholders.
The 45-year old Ivorian who once coached in Senegal and was formerly in charge of the High Performance Centre in Morocco, is expected to meet with the federation’s tennis coaches to evaluate the Coach Education Programme in Nigeria.
The ITF Coach Education Programme is designed to help national tennis associations create bespoke coaching programmes best suited to their needs and provides a framework that promotes home-grown proficiency with the vision of improving the level of tennis coaching around the world.
Lonfo who is the ITF representative at the on-going African Junior Finals qualifiers in Cotonou, will have a session with the top juniors in the country and also meet with stakeholders of the Nigeria Tennis Federation, including the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Sports Council, and commercial partners of the federation.
The Nigeria Tennis Federation President, Ifedayo Akindoju hopes that Lonfo’s visit will spur the ITF into establishing a High Performance Centre in the country. Such an institution according to Akindoju will drive tennis participation in Nigeria and help provide aspiring tennis players with state of the art facilities that will help them fulfill their potential and make their mark on the global scene.
Nigeria has long sought a High Performance Centre but haven’t been able to convince the ITF to set up one in the country.
