The 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF), tagged Gateway Games Ogun 2024, scheduled to hold January 12, 2025 has been postponed till May 16 to 30, 2025.
This formed part of the communique issued at the end of the Joint Technical Meetings held in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital, Thursday.
Reading the communique, the Secretary of the Main Organising Committee (MOC), Thecla Opara, said the postponement was necessitated to effect some of the recommendations of the technical committee in order to have a world class festival.
“The committee agreed that in order to give some time to effect the observations and recommendations from the Joint Technical Meeting, the dates for the 22nd National Sports Festival should be adjusted to May 16-30, 2025; and the Zonal Eliminations for Team Sports for the Games would hold from February 23-28, 2025”, the communique reads
The joint committee however enjoined the MOC Secretariat to amend the Games timeline and circulate to all concerned stakeholders accordingly.
Meanwhile, speaking with newsmen after the meeting, the Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Bukola Olopade, alluded to the need to factor other elements in the preparation for the games.
“The communique is clear but what the communique did not capture was that the Ogun state government, and the LOC were vehemently against any postponement. But in the wisdom of the Technical Committee, and the MoC, they felt there are so many elements that needed to come together for us to give Nigerians the new definition of sports economy and ecosystem as defined by the President, there was need to push it forward.
“We are excited that we have a new date. This gives us five months to properly put everything together and show the whole country what capacity is all about”, he said.
The technical committee chairman, in his remarks noted that the facilities on ground needed upgrades to meet international standard as set by the committee.
“Technically, we looked at the facilities, and as professionals, we want something that would be peculiar, and nearer to the Olympics.
“So looking at all the facilities put on ground by the Ogun state government, we felt that if would be better for the facilities to be properly fine tuned to meet the standard, so that our athletes would enjoy and not manage”, he added
