The word “National”, besides INEC-related events, literally rings a unifying national bell. The National Youth Service Corps is a typical example of an event that brings people together from across the country; only that the National Sports Festival isn’t just for young graduates. It is every young person in the sports field.
The ongoing National Sports Festival, held in Ogun, slated to end May 30, 2025, has all the colours of a typical Nigerian festival. Not the kind of colours you’ll see at Ojúde Obá, or the Durbar Festival, or the Calabar Carnival (chip in August Meeting), but the kind you’ll see because every team has their brand colours.
The National Sports Festival should represent Nigeria’s 36 states coming together to participate in sports like football, athletics, cycling, boxing, judo, wrestling, volleyball, basketball, lawn tennis, swimming, badminton, taekwondo, hockey, handball, cricket, golf, karate, table tennis, and kickboxing.
But, only 23 states are reported to have arrived as of May 24.
What has defined the sporting event so far?
The Good
Nigeria has been in a tribal war for a couple of years now. The 2023 general elections amplified this, especially on social media. There are even indications that the 2027 elections will be worse. But…
“I love the festival because it brings tribes from different parts of the country together,” a lawn tennis player said, without being asked. This shows that the younger generation may value national progressive relationships over tribal wars.
“The venues and the accommodation are so good. I didn’t expect Babcock to be that big. I originally wanted to stay at a hotel, but seeing the accommodation provided at the school, I decided to stay,” an Edo state delegate said.
The secretary to a state team reiterated this, saying, “Babcock accommodated every delegate and participant from across Nigeria.“
The festival has seen an enthusiastic crowd and available facilities, though not of the Olympic standard type.
The festival’s focus on grassroots sports development and talent identification has been inspiring, and many young talents have made a name for themselves up to this point.
Call the national sports festival a celebration of Nigerian sportsmanship and unity.
A brief interview with an official of the National Sports Commission (NSC) shed light on the event’s progress and challenges.
The official expressed satisfaction with the accommodation and facilities, stating, “So far so good in terms of accommodation, facility, so far it has been so far so good.”
The Bad
Not as organised as you’d expect.
“The timetable is inconsistent with what was shared, especially because the timing isn’t available and athletes have to wait for bells and ‘updates’ every day to know what’s next,” a state official said.
This encourages an unnecessarily accommodating spirit because athletes are told about their participation a few hours before the time of their event.
“We’ve to sit and wait. All we got in our emails is a general timetable, which does not say when. Just where,” the official added.
Besides that, the festival is so analogue you’d think we were in 2005.
Tech-related elements are non-existent. Scoreboards are not working in many of the events. You may see a working scoreboard at a volleyball match at the Alake Sports Centre in Abeokuta or a Paralympics basketball match at the Remo Stars stadium.
But that’s it.
The football matches (taking place at Remo Stars stadium), the swimming events, the cycling events, the judo events, and the lawn tennis events had no form of tech-enabled or tech-related element.
In a country trying to catch up with the world in technology, this was an opportunity missed.
The most basic, which is updates on the website of the National Sports Festival, is also empty. No app for updates, just like we have for the Olympics. No regular social media updates, except when they feel like it.
As much as sports enthusiasts like to just enjoy sports, it’s more exciting when the most basic things are in place, and tech can do that effectively.
To be clear. Besides digital scoreboards, online streaming of events to reach a wider audience enables remote viewing.
Read also: Nexal Gaming to launch Africa’s LinkedIn for gamers, Esports NG in 2024
A dedicated app for festival schedules, scores, athlete profiles and updates cannot be a reach, considering the budget of the festival.
There should be electronic ticketing systems for easy entry and crowd management. But, interestingly, entry and exit from all the venues are seamless.
Social media platforms for live updates, behind-the-scenes content and fan engagement is a necessity. What we have had is the Director of the National Sports Commission warning media houses or individuals to steer clear of publishing unconfirmed scores, further underscoring the need for live updates and digital scoreboards.
In one of the lawn tennis matches, a player complained that the scores did not match what they thought it was.
This is 2025, so it would be good to have digital systems to track athlete performances, timings and progress.
One last thing. What if we had virtual reality or augmented reality experiences to enhance fan engagement and provide immersive experiences? A big ask, right?
The National Sports Festival has had issues with judging and allegations of bias and favouritism, sentiments echoed by a swimming talent. Another questioned if Nigeria’s sports infrastructure is truly ready for the international stage.
The NSC official highlighted a significant tech shortfall when pressed about tech-enabled facilities.
The official acknowledged limited technological integration, noting manual operations at most of the sporting events.
They mentioned that courts were provided where needed, but offered no further details on advanced tech infrastructure.
Meanwhile, as of May 24, 2025, the exact budget earmarked for the 22nd National Sports Festival (“Gateway Games 2025”) remains undisclosed, leaving the financial scope of this significant event unclear.
The Ogun State government has invested heavily in infrastructure upgrades, such as the MKO Abiola Stadium and Alake Sports Centre, and disbursed 16.5 million naira to 33 sports associations to bolster preparations. No official figure has been confirmed for the overall festival budget.
Reports suggesting a 5.9 billion naira allocation from the state’s 2024 budget expenditure schedule have surfaced on X, alongside Governor Dapo Abiodun’s pledge of cash rewards (2.5 million naira per gold, 1.5 million naira per silver, 1 million naira per bronze) for Ogun athletes, but these lack verification from the National Sports Commission or state authorities.
Given the event’s scale, hosting over 10,000 athletes and officials in an Olympic-style Games Village at Babcock University, featuring 33 sports, and promising a world-class experience, the absence of a transparent budget raises questions about financial planning and resource allocation, especially amidst criticisms of regional disparities in venue usage and the need for enhanced digital infrastructure, as observed during the festival’s ongoing run from May 16 to May 30, 2025.
The Best.
Delta seems to be the favourite to go home with the most medals. As of Day 6, Delta leads the medal table with 44 gold, 19 silver, and 40 bronze medals. Team Bayelsa (33, 23, 23) and Rivers (26, 21, 26) follow, indicating that South South Nigeria is the most sports-savvy part of the country.
As of May 24, Team Ogun is in fourth place with 25 gold, 26 silver, and 24 bronze medals.
The National Sports Festival is a game-changer for Nigerian sports, showcasing the country’s indelible talent and potential.
What you’ll see is electrifying performances. One particular event is the record-breaking, exceptional swimming of Tobiloba Omolola, a Team Ogun athlete.
Omolola set two records in the swimming event: a new national record and a festival record in the 800m freestyle women’s event, clocking 10:23.32 secs. A new festival record in the 400m freestyle women’s event with a time of 4:53.34 secs.
The Ogun Commissioner for Sports, Honourable Isiaka Wasiu, has praised her talent, saying she’d be fully rewarded for her achievements.
Meanwhile, 14-year-old JSS3 student of Grange School, Lagos – Aidan Dumuje-Abili – won a Silver medal in the men’s 100m backstroke of the swimming event.
It’s the first senior national medal for Dumuje-Abili, who competed for the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA), getting to the line in a time of 1:04.15 to finish on the podium.
Kolade Otunla (Ogun) won the GOLD medal with a time of 1:02.41s, with Duke Enyekamime (Delta) completing the podium places, taking the bronze medal in 1:04.70.
Apart from swimming, other sporting events that Dumuje-Abili is also very good at are basketball and football.
African Champion Omolola Onome Didih of Lagos State and Rivers State’s Ruth Nyong gave standout performances on Day 2 of the weightlifting events of the ongoing National Sports Festival, tagged the Gateway Games.
The two lifters won four gold medals and two silvers for their states in the women’s 49kg and 55kg categories, respectively.
In the women’s 49kg class, Ruth Nyong (Rivers State) won two gold and one silver medal. She lifted 75kg to claim gold in the snatch, and she got the second gold in her total lift of 167kg.
Nyong, originally from Akwa Ibom, handed Rivers State an additional silver medal with her 92kg lift in the Clean & Jerk.
The festival is ongoing, and yes, there are security agents spread across all the venues.
Meanwhile, in a landmark moment for Nigeria’s digital sports evolution, the Esports Federation of Nigeria (EFN) demonstrated competitive gaming at the 22nd National Sports Festival.
Bukola Olopade, the Director General of the National Sports Commission, said in light of this:
“Our pursuit of a sustainable sports economy in Nigeria took a big step forward today as the multi-billion Naira eSports industry debuted at the National Sports Festival as a demonstration sport.
“This is another huge step the Commission @NatSportsComm has taken to ensure it taps into the vast potential of one of the world’s fastest-growing sports industries.”
Read also: The state of eSports in Nigeria: Why more investors should jump on gamers’ newest interest
See more pictures below:
Not to forget, all the venues have traders selling anything you may want to eat or drink, including clothing items and accessories.
Looking ahead, the NSC official emphasised the festival’s success in delivering top-level competitions and urged participation in the next edition in Enugu, stating, “After the end of this competition, everybody should start moving and preparing for next year,” leaving the future of post-festival highlights open-ended.
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