Anyone genuinely familiar with the state of sports in Imo knows there’s little to celebrate and much to mourn. All it takes is a walk around the crumbling Dan Anyiam Stadium or a glance at the ruins of the once-glorious Grasshoppers Handball complex.
Yet, the state government, in its usual fashion, continues to boast of “investments” and “progress.” The reality is grim: Imo sports is comatose, buried under a thick fog of government neglect and political window-dressing.
Commissioner for Sports, Obinna Onyeocha may be applauding Governor Hope Uzodimma for his so-called investments in sports when the the state government hosted seven members of WAFCON winning Super Falcons of Imo origin. But such praise rings hollow. It’s clear his statements are nothing but politically correct rhetoric, a necessary script for survival in a government where truth is a liability.
We can pity Onyeocha — he’s playing a role to keep his job — but let’s not confuse flattery for fact. He knows, just like every sports lover in the state knows, that Imo’s sports sector is in utter disarray.
Let’s talk about Heartland FC, once the pride of Imo football. Today, the club is languishing in the second tier of Nigerian football, the Nigeria National League (NNL), having been relegated back-to-back. A once-feared team on the continent, with a rich history in NPFL, Challenge Cup, and CAF tournaments, now serves as a tragic reminder of what mismanagement can do to a legacy.
Meanwhile, the women’s side, Heartland Queens, isn’t any better. They barely escaped relegation thanks to a technicality. The team has been stripped of its best players by better-funded and better-run clubs like Abia Angels and Edo Queens. And while the Imo government was busy spending millions on Super Falcons players of Imo origin, the Queens were left starving of resources, structure, and strategy. This is a gross failure of governance and sports policy.
Take a look around: facilities that should be hives of youth activity and talent development now rot in abandonment. The old stadium on Tetlow Road is now a motor park. Orlu and Okigwe stadia, which should be boosting sports in their zones, have either collapsed from poor construction or been neglected beyond recognition.
National competitions that should have been hosted in Imo now take place at privately owned facilities like the OISA field in Ngor Okpala. How shameful is that?
And what happened to athletics? Imo athletes train on concrete floors because tartan tracks have been ripped up and never replaced. The result? Injuries, poor performance, and total lack of competitiveness. No wonder Imo is always missing on medal tables at national events — athletes can’t compete when they train in conditions fit for prisoners, not professionals.
The handball sector that once brought national honour through the Grasshoppers teams has become a monument to neglect. The stadium, which used to host continental games, now looks like it survived a missile strike — a depressing shell of its former self.
During a recent national event in Benin, the female handball team from Imo reportedly slept in open hostels while their counterparts from other States lodged in hotels. No training allowance. No competition bonus. Zero morale.
Basketball? Forget it. There is no functioning indoor basketball court in the entire state. The one outdoor court left at Dan Anyiam Stadium is more dangerous than it is playable. Any athlete who steps on it risks injury.
As for swimming? The one under-construction pool has become a fish farm. You read that right — a fish farm, thanks to strangers who now use it as a business venture while the state government looks the other way.
If all of this doesn’t scream “collapse,” what does? Sports in Imo State has become a wasteland. A dumping ground for ambition and talent. This isn’t just a policy failure — it’s a betrayal of Imo’s youth.
Imo State needs more than political propaganda to revive its sports sector. It needs vision, structure, and sincere commitment. The neglect of sports is contributing directly to the surge in youth restiveness, cultism, and crime.
If the government truly wants to fight social decay, it must invest in grassroots sports development. It must organize regular state-wide sports festivals to discover young talents. It must empower statutory bodies like the Imo FA to drive development, not sideline them out of fear of losing political control.
Imo deserves better. Its athletes deserve better. Imo sports is collapsing — and if we keep pretending, it may never come back.
