National Sports Festival: NSC heads storm various centres as zonal eliminations commence

By Olaolu Joseph

The leadership of the National Sports Commission (NSC) will be actively supervising and monitoring proceedings across various centres as the zonal eliminations for team sports at the 22nd National Sports Festival begin.

States will be competing for qualification spots at different zonal centres, including Ibadan, Benin, Enugu, Kaduna, Plateau, and Yobe, for various team sports at the 22nd National Sports Festival, set to take place in Ogun State.

The zonal eliminations mark another crucial step in preparations for the successful organization of the festival, scheduled for May this year in the Gateway State.

Determined to ensure a hitch-free process, NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko and Director General Honourable Bukola Olopade have decided to visit some of the centres.

Mallam Shehu Dikko will oversee activities at the Kaduna Centre, while Honourable Bukola Olopade will be present at the Ibadan Centre, underscoring the leadership’s renewed commitment to sports development.

Mallam Shehu Dikko emphasized the significance of the zonal eliminations, stating that they are just as important as the festival itself and highlighting the commission’s commitment to a successful competition across all centres.

“We are determined to do things differently, with a touch of global best practices, which is why we are placing great importance on the zonal eliminations this time around,” he said.

Similarly, Honourable Bukola Olopade affirmed that the commission has provided all necessary logistics, through the Department of Sports Festival and Grassroots Development, to ensure all zones host a successful qualification round.

“The Gateway Games in Ogun State will go down as one of the best-organized festivals in history, and to achieve this, we must have one of the best-organized zonal eliminations,” he stated.

Team sports featured in the zonal elimination phase include football, volleyball, basketball, hockey, cricket, beach volleyball, abula, and handball.