The countdown to the 23rd National Sports Festival in Enugu State has begun, but instead of excitement, the event is already generating concern over the reported decision to stage only 20 sports.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) has approved the following sports for the Festival: Athletics (including Para-Athletics), Badminton (including Para-Badminton), Basketball (3×3 and Wheelchair Basketball), Boxing, Canoeing (including Para-Canoeing), Cricket, Cycling, Darts, Football, Golf, Gymnastics, Judo, Mixed Martial Arts (MMA), Shooting (including Para-Shooting), Swimming, Table Tennis (including Para-Table Tennis), Tennis, Taekwondo, Weightlifting (including Para-Powerlifting), and Wrestling.
Conspicuously absent from the approved list are several established National Sports Festival events, including volleyball, handball, hockey, beach volleyball, chess, scrabble, squash, traditional sports, and other disciplines that have featured in previous editions of the Games.
Although the Director-General of the National Sports Commission, Hon. Bukola Olopade, told State Directors of Sports at a meeting in Abuja that the decision to streamline the Festival to 20 sports was taken during the last National Council on Sports meeting in Calabar, he explained that the move was necessitated by prevailing economic realities.
The Director-General further stated that the decision aligns with the model being adopted for the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, where the sports programme is being streamlined and optimized for greater efficiency and impact.
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However, this explanation has failed to convince many stakeholders. Critics argue that the National Sports Festival and the Commonwealth Games serve different purposes and should not be directly compared.
They also point out that no African country has adopted a similar approach by reducing its premier multi-sport event through the exclusion of established sports.
Consequently, stakeholders have questioned the real motivation behind the decision and are calling on the NSC to be more transparent about the criteria used in selecting the approved sports.
Only greater openness and accountability can dispel speculation and restore confidence in the Commission’s decision-making process.
A more convincing explanation is therefore needed, as the development has left athletes, coaches, administrators, and sports enthusiasts wondering why Nigeria’s premier multi-sport event is being drastically scaled down.
For decades, the National Sports Festival has been the country’s biggest platform for talent discovery and sports development.
Previous editions featured well over 20 sports, providing thousands of athletes with opportunities to compete, showcase their abilities, and earn national recognition.
Even more troubling is the apparent exclusion of several established traditional and team sports that have long been integral to the National Sports Festival.
Of the 20 approved sports, only football and basketball are team events, while volleyball, handball, hockey, and other established sports have been left out.
If this decision is confirmed, it raises serious concerns about inclusiveness, athlete development, and the future of the affected sports.
Excluding established events from the National Sports Festival will deny many athletes the opportunity to compete at the highest domestic level, reduce exposure for emerging talents, and weaken the development pathway for several sports.
It could also discourage investment by state governments and sports associations, as disciplines excluded from the country’s premier multi-sport event may receive less attention, funding, and participation in the years ahead.
Rather than expanding opportunities for athletes, coaches, officials, and sports federations, the National Sports Festival appears to be restricting them.
Instead of broadening participation and strengthening sports development across the country, the reduction in events could deny thousands of athletes the chance to compete, limit talent identification, and diminish the visibility of several established sports.
A festival designed to unite the nation through sport should be creating more opportunities, not fewer.
By reducing the number of events, countless athletes are deprived of the chance to compete on Nigeria’s biggest sporting stage, while coaches lose valuable opportunities to develop talent and sports federations are denied a platform to promote their disciplines.
Instead of serving as a catalyst for sports development, the Festival risks sidelining entire sporting communities and slowing the growth of less prominent sports across the country.
Stakeholders therefore deserve a comprehensive explanation of the criteria used in selecting the approved sports and whether there are plans to accommodate the excluded events before the Games begin.
Reports from various sources suggest that Enugu State informed the NSC that it could only host 20 sports because of inadequate sporting facilities.
If that is the case, then the Commission must also accept responsibility. While no one can fault Enugu State for being transparent about its limitations, it was the responsibility of the NSC to ensure that the host state possessed the capacity to stage a truly national multi-sport festival.
If Enugu could not accommodate all the sports, the Commission had several alternatives. It could have awarded the hosting rights to a state with adequate facilities, adopted a co-hosting arrangement, or invested in the necessary infrastructure well ahead of the Games.
The NSC also had sufficient time to engage stakeholders and develop practical solutions that would ensure no recognised sport was excluded.
Whatever the constraints, reducing the number of events should have been the last resort, not the first option.
The National Sports Festival was established to promote national unity, foster inclusiveness, and accelerate the development of sports across all disciplines.
It was conceived as a platform where athletes from every state and in every recognised sport could compete, discover new talents, and strengthen Nigeria’s sporting culture.
Any decision that limits participation or excludes established sports runs contrary to these founding objectives and weakens the Festival’s role as the country’s premier multi-sport event.
Reducing the number of events because of inadequate facilities undermines the very purpose of the Games and denies many athletes the opportunity to compete on Nigeria’s biggest sporting stage.
Another report suggests that the host state deliberately selected only those sports in which it believes it has a realistic chance of winning medals.
If this claim is true, it reflects a misplaced understanding of the purpose of hosting the National Sports Festival.
Hosting the Games should not be driven primarily by the desire to top the medals table.
Rather, it should be seen as an opportunity to invest in sporting infrastructure, promote sports development, discover and nurture young talents, and leave a lasting legacy that benefits both the host state and the nation.
Ultimately, a successful host is remembered not only for the number of medals won but also for the quality of its facilities, the efficiency of its organisation, and the lasting contribution the Festival makes to sports development long after the closing ceremony.
In conclusion, the National Sports Commission (NSC) must ensure that the integrity of the National Sports Festival is never compromised for the sake of convenience or any other consideration.
The Festival is a national institution, and its standards should be guided by established policies, fairness, and due process rather than circumstances that diminish its purpose.
Going forward, the Commission should make it clear that no host state will be permitted to determine the scope of the Festival based solely on its own strengths or limitations.
Allowing such a precedent to stand could encourage future host states to adopt the same approach by selecting only the sports that favour them or excluding those for which they lack competitive prospects.
Such a trend would undermine the credibility of the National Sports Festival, deny many athletes the opportunity to compete, and weaken the development of several sports across the country.
Every recognised sport deserves a fair place at Nigeria’s premier multi-sport event, and every athlete deserves an equal opportunity to represent his or her state on the nation’s biggest sporting stage.
The NSC must therefore reaffirm its commitment to inclusiveness, transparency, and national sports development by ensuring that future editions of the Festival uphold the highest standards and remain truly representative of Nigeria’s diverse sporting landscape.
The NSC should also conduct rigorous and repeated inspections of every prospective host state before granting final hosting rights.
These assessments should thoroughly evaluate the availability, quality, and readiness of all sporting facilities, accommodation, medical services, transportation, and other essential infrastructure.
Final approval should only be granted after the Commission is fully satisfied that the host state has the capacity to stage every approved sport without compromising the integrity of the National Sports Festival.
