By Naneke Hoffman
Tennis is one of the most popular sports played across the world, but why do most Liberians seem to have less interest in tennis?
Liberia’s former tennis coach Alfred Kandakai explains there are lots of challenges in the game, and the Liberia Tennis Federation is not in the right position to tackle those issues due to lack of support.
He says the Samuel Kanyon Doe Sports Complex in Paynesville is the only training facility, stressing that more facilities are needed across the country to provide playing opportunities for players to train and develop in the sport.
Mr. Kandakai, who served as coach in the Liberia Tennis Federation for 22 years, including as technical director, notes that the Liberia Tennis Federation participated in few international tournaments before the COVID-19 pandemic
Liberia’s tennis delegation appeared in the West & Central Africa Junior competition, but the country needs more players and funding to improve the sport. Besides, Tennis is a huge sports business across the world.
Developing tennis across Liberia requires a national plan from the government to decentralize the sport, create opportunities through school programs, training tennis coaches, match officials, and creating community and district leagues as well as county competitions to help develop the sport and attract more Liberians.
Mr. Kandakai notes that the lack of training materials, facilities, resources and funding is discouraging coaches.
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Mr. Kandakai, who is a member of the Youth For Tennis, says the YFT is one of the organizations currently providing developmental education for interested kids, reiterating that Liberia needs more tennis education to increase the level of performance and generate public interest in the sport across the country.https://thenewdawnliberia.com/weah-breaks-ground-for-multi-purpose-php-unity-sports-park/ Editing by Jonathan Browne
