ABSTRACT
This dissertation was a perceptional study in which the influence of branding and consultancy services on sports development in Nigeria was investigated. The indices were; Construction and management of sporting facilities, Funding and financial management, Performance of coaches, athletes and sports managers, Sports organizational structure and personnel management and Hosting of the National Sports Festival. Related literature was reviewed. From a population of 7,441 made up of coaches, athletes and sports managers, 372 respondents were sampled for the study. A set of questionnaire designed by the researcher, vetted by supervisors and jurors and tested through a pilot study, was used to solicit the opinion of respondents. The data generated was analysed using descriptive statistics (one-tailed t-test) to test the major and first six sub-hypotheses while the Pearson Product Moment was used to test the sub-hypothesis on the correlation between the influence of branding and consultancy services on the indices of sports development in Nigeria. Results revealed that branding and consultancy services influence funding and financial management, performances of coaches, athletes and sports managers as well as selection and specialization in sports by athletes in Nigeria. However there is no significant influence of branding and consultancy services on the construction and management of sporting facilities, organisational structure and personnel management in sports and hosting of the National Sports Festival in Nigeria. It was recommended that National Policy on Sports should be reviewed in order to inculcate new methods and strategies towards enhancing sports development initiatives in the country while branding experts and sports consultants should intensify regular training and retraining programmes for coaches, athletes and sports managers to update their knowledge and skills. For further studies, it would be of academic interest to investigate why sports fans in Nigeria prefer foreign clubs and athletes to their home based counterparts.