American Journal of Sports Science 2016; 4(6): 98-104 http://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/j/ajss doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.11 ISSN: 2330-8559 (Print); ISSN: 2330-8540 (Online) Talent Development Environment in Nigeria: Athletes’ Perceptions of Barriers, Opportunities and Facilitators Adeboye Israel Elumaro 1 , Andronikos Georgios 2 , Martindale Russell 2 , Westbury Tony 2 1 Human Kinetics & Health Education, Adekunle Ajasin University, Akungba Akoko, Nigeria 2 School of Life, Sport & Social Sciences, Edinburgh Napier University, Edinburgh, United Kingdom Email address: adeboye.elumaro@aaua.edu.ng (A. I. Elumaro) To cite this article: Adeboye Israel Elumaro, Andronikos Georgios, Martindale Russell, Westbury Tony. Talent Development Environment in Nigeria: Athletes’ Perceptions of Barriers, Opportunities and Facilitators. American Journal of Sports Science. Vol. 4, No. 6, 2016, pp. 98-104. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20160406.11 Received: September 20, 2016; Accepted: October 2, 2016; Published: October 27, 2016 Abstract: Environmental factors have been considered as critical to successful talent development in sports. The entire backgrounds of development including the home, school, community and the organizational culture in sport should provide consistent and coherent support for the developing champions if the goal of effective talent development is to be realised. This study explored the nature of talent development environment in Nigerian in order to uncover the barriers, opportunities and facilitators of effective talent development in the country. Eight successful national athletes were interviewed. Inductive analysis revealed the barriers (e.g. family barriers, finance, facilities, lack of regular competitions, issues with injury/rehabilitation), opportunities (e.g. luck, school sport, early senior participation) and facilitators of development (e.g. hard work, peer influence, coach-athlete relationship). It was suggested that the barriers be mitigated by encouraging the relevant parties (e.g. parents, governments) to promote an enabling environment for talent development in sport. Recommendation was made for further studies. Keywords: Talent Development Environment, Barriers, Opportunities, Facilitators 1. Introduction Talent Development Environment (TDE) refers to the entire milieu from which young talented athletes mature to elite athletes including the athletes’ immediate surroundings where both personal and athletic development evolve; the inter-relationship between these surroundings; the larger background in which the surroundings are embedded; and the organizational culture of the sports club [1]. [2] suggested that this type of environment comprises of three components a) milieu; b) individuals; and c) provisions. TDEs are directly linked to the achievement of expertise in sports [3], [4] and can be refined to aid the evolution of sporting potentials to elite success [5]. TDEs do not only relate with the sport environment such as training sessions and or sport clubs but also include the entire settings in which the child lives and grows [1]. For example, the influence of the family on talent development (TD) has been previously reported [6], [7], in fact, the home is deemed the access road to TD. According to [8], parents build the foundation for TD by recognizing the natural abilities of the child, providing for early start, serving as talent scouts among other roles they play to bring the goal of TD to fruition. Similarly, the role of the coach in talent development has been emphasized by previous studies [6], [9], [5]. Effective development requires quality coaching predicated on the right coach-athlete relationship, with clear understanding of personal characteristics [10], development related challenges [11] and environmental factors [12], [5] associated with TD. Also, the coach in collaboration with other key stakeholders (e.g. parents) should engender a holistic environment that provides a network of consistent and coherent support throughout the development process [5]. In terms of what constitutes an effective model for TDE, [13] underscored the importance of an integrated, holistic and systematic model involving long term aims and methods;