Asaba 2022 Sports Festival also known as the National Sports Festival of Nigeria is a biennial multi-sport event organized by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Sports Commission for athletes from the 36 States and the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. [1]
The National Sport Festival can be traced back to its debut in 1973 in Lagos State. The major aim of the festival is fooster unity and ensure talent development in sports in the country. [2]
The festival is also known to be called Nigerias version of Olympics games. The festival for 2022 was the 21st edition of the competition and it was hosted at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba, the capital of Delta state. [3]
The National Sport Festival tagged Asaba 2022 was scheduled to hold from November 8, 2022, to December 10, 2022. The flag off of the Torch of Unity for the festival was done by President Muhammadu Buhari at the Presidential villa in Abuja. [4]
The Governor of Delta State, Dr. Ifeanyi Okowa received the torch of Unity from the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare after the troch of Unity had toured the entire 36 states of the federation including the Federal Capital Territory. [5]
Some of the activities in the festival includes running, scrabble games, basketball, handball, volleyball, swimming, cycling, wrestling, judo, Karate, kickboxing, cricket and many other sports included in the olympics games. It was reported that over 15,00 athletics participated in the festival in Asaba. [6] [7] [8]
Delta state won the bid to host this years version of the festival at the end of the last edition which was held in Benin city, Edo State. [9] [10]
At the end of the 21st edition, team Delta topped the medal table winning 320 gold medal, 200 silver medals and 128 bronze medals. [11] [12]
Team Bayelsa came second in the medal table followed by Team Edo which came third in the medal table. [13] [14]
States | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total | Position |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Delta | 320 | 200 | 128 | 648 | 1st |
Bayelsa | 132 | 115 | 90 | 337 | 2nd |
Edo | 78 | 94 | 167 | 339 | 3rd |
Oyo | 50 | 51 | 62 | 163 | 4th |
Lagos | 41 | 57 | 74 | 172 | 5th |
Rivers | 35 | 57 | 117 | 209 | 6th |
kano | 19 | 27 | 30 | 76 | 7th |
Ogun | 15 | 18 | 37 | 70 | 8th |
FCT | 15 | 11 | 33 | 59 | 9th |
Akwa Ibom | 14 | 15 | 33 | 62 | 10th |
Imo | 12 | 8 | 25 | 45 | 11th |
Abia | 10 | 11 | 20 | 41 | 12th |
Ondo | 9 | 25 | 47 | 81 | 13th |
Anambra | 6 | 9 | 24 | 39 | 14th |
Cross River | 6 | 6 | 6 | 18 | 15th |
Plateau | 4 | 12 | 26 | 42 | 16th |
Osun | 4 | 12 | 13 | 29 | 17th |
Kwara | 4 | 8 | 37 | 49 | 18th |
Niger | 3 | 6 | 5 | 14 | 19th |
Kaduna | 3 | 5 | 9 | 17 | 20th |
Benue | 3 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 21st |
Kastina | 2 | 4 | 9 | 15 | 22nd |
Borno | 2 | 1 | 7 | 10 | 23rd |
Yobe | 1 | 3 | 3 | 7 | 24th |
Kogi | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 25th |
Enugu | 1 | 1 | 7 | 9 | 26th |
Adamawa | 1 | 0 | 3 | 4 | 27th |
Nasarawa | 0 | 7 | 13 | 20 | 28th |
Bauchi | 0 | 6 | 10 | 16 | 29th |
Ebonyi | 0 | 5 | 4 | 9 | 30th |
Kebbi | 0 | 4 | 6 | 10 | 31st |
Ekiti | 0 | 4 | 3 | 7 | 32nd |
Taraba | 0 | 2 | 6 | 8 | 33rd |
Jigawa | 0 | 2 | 3 | 5 | 34th |
Sokoto | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 35th |
Gombe | 0 | 0 | 6 | 6 | 36th |
Zamfara | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 37th |
Total | 791 | 790 | 1071 | 2652 | |
Delta State is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of Nigeria. Named after the Niger Delta—a large part of which is in the state—the state was formed from the former Bendel State, on 27 August 1991. Bordered on the north by Edo State, the east by Anambra and Rivers states, and that south by Bayelsa State while to the west is the Bight of Benin which covers about 160 kilometres of the state's coastline. The state was initially created with 12 local government areas in 1991, but was later expanded to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Its capital city is Asaba which is located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the state, while the state's economic center is the city of Warri on the southwestern coastline.
Edo, officially known as Edo State, is a state in the South-South geopolitical zone of the federal republic of Nigeria. As of 2022, the state was ranked as the 22nd most populous state (4,777,000) in Nigeria. The estimated state population is around 4,777,000 in 2022. Edo State is the 22nd largest State by landmass in Nigeria. The state's capital and largest city, Benin City, is the fourth largest city in Nigeria, and the centre of the country's rubber industry. Created in 1991 from the former Bendel State, it is also known as the heart beat of the nation. Edo State borders Kogi State to the north for 133 km and across the Niger River for 81 km to the northeast, Anambra State to the east for about four km across the Niger River, Delta State to the southeast and south for 350 km, and Ondo State to the west.
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