Medals, Money Fueling ‘Win-at-All-Costs’ Culture in Sports, Says FUE Kontagora VC

The Vice-Chancellor of the Federal University of Education, Kontagora, Prof. Faruk Rashid-Haruna, has warned that the growing emphasis on medals, institutional prestige and financial rewards is fuelling a “win-at-all-costs” culture that threatens the integrity of collegiate and global sports.

Rashid-Haruna raised the concern on Thursday in Kano while delivering the keynote address at the 54th National Conference and Workshop of the Nigeria Association for Physical, Health Education, Recreation, Sports and Dance (NAPHER-SD).

The conference, being held at Bayero University, Kano, from September 15 to 19, is themed “Transparency, Integrity and Accountability in Sports, Health and Education.”

His keynote address, titled “Legal, Ethical and Governance Considerations in Global and Collegiate Sports: Addressing Systemic Crises and Institutional Corruption,” examined the legal, ethical and governance challenges confronting sports, with particular focus on Nigerian university competitions.

The vice-chancellor said sport, physical education, health education, recreation and dance serve as important institutional and social platforms for developing cooperation, discipline, leadership, citizenship and respect for others.

According to him, the credibility of these activities depends on public confidence that decisions are made transparently, resources are properly managed, participants are protected from harm and rules are applied fairly.

He warned that the increasing focus on medals, institutional prestige, commercial visibility and financial rewards could encourage practices such as doping, eligibility manipulation, match-fixing, bribery, violence, harassment and unsafe participation.

«“These problems are failures of transparency, integrity and accountability with consequences for athlete health, educational values, institutional reputation and public trust,” he said.»

Rashid-Haruna noted that university competitions, including the Nigerian University Games Association (NUGA), founded in 1966, were established to promote social interaction, youth development and peaceful competition.

He, however, observed that the legitimate pursuit of sporting excellence could become destructive when athletes, coaches and administrators began to place winning above the manner in which success was achieved.

To address the challenges, the vice-chancellor proposed an integrated sports governance framework built around transparent financial administration, independent oversight, verified athlete accreditation, safeguarding mechanisms, health and safety protocols, ethical education, protected reporting channels and measurable integrity indicators.

He called on the government to develop a coherent national integrity framework linking anti-corruption measures, athlete welfare, safeguarding, health and education.

He also urged the government to provide predictable funding for university sports to reduce pressures that could undermine institutional integrity.

Rashid-Haruna further advised universities to regard sports as an integral part of their educational mission and assess sports programmes based not only on medals won but also on participation, learning, health and integrity outcomes.

He recommended that NUGA introduce a harmonised eligibility and biometric accreditation system to strengthen transparency and prevent manipulation of athletes’ eligibility.

He also called on sports professionals to lead by example by placing participant welfare above competitive success.

“In conclusion, sport should reward excellence, but excellence must include honesty, safety, fairness and responsibility,” he said.