INTERNATIONAL OLYMPIC ACADEMY 7th JOINT - IOA

DEALING WITH SOCIO-CULTURAL BARRIERS TO
NIGERIAN WOMEN’S PARTICIPATION IN SPORT
THROUGH OLYMPIC FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES
Ms Adeolou Bamidele BABALOLA-FATOBA (NGR)
INTRODUCTION
There has been a continuing universal struggle to increase the
level of women’s participation in sport due to some socio-cultural
inhibitions. Though there has been an improvement in the percentage
of women participating in sport, it is still a bit insignificant in relation
to men’s participation.
Despite the increase in the number/types of sporting activities
women can participate in, the number of women athletes is still
considerably low. However, the FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF
OLYMPIC revitalized in 1994 stresses that NON DISCRIMINATION
AND INCREASE IN NUMBER OF WOMEN’S INVOLVED IN
ADMINISTERING AND PARTICIPATING IN SPORTS MAY ASSIST IN
AWAKENING WOMEN IN SOCIETIES WHERE THEY ARE YET TO
FULLY EMBRACE THE SPORTING CULTURE.
WOMEN IN OLYMPICS
Women also referred to as female had been a controversial issue in
sports participation generally and the Olympics particularly.
The Ancient Olympics was mainly for men. This phenomenon
was transferred into the Modern Olympics when Pierre de Coubertin
the founder of Modern Olympics announced the exclusion of women
from Olympics at the IOC assembly in 1920.
This was further buttressed by Karl Ritter Von Halt a renowned
German athlete and IOC member between 1929 and 1964 who
claimed in the 1920’s that men were born to compete, competition is
alien to a woman’s nature, so let’s do away with women athletics
championships.
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