Nigerian National Sports Festival

Last updated

The Nigerian National Sports Festival is a biennial multi-sport event organized by the Federal Government of Nigeria through the National Sports Commission for athletes from the 36 States of Nigeria. [1] [2]

Contents

Started and staged in 1973 at the National Stadium, Surulere in Lagos, the game was originally conceived as a "unifying tool" with the main purpose of promoting peace and cross-cultural affiliation in Nigeria after the Nigerian Civil War in 1970. [3] The game also serves as a development and training event to aid athletes prepare for continental and international meets. [4] The objectives of the National Sports Festival is:

COVID-19 and Nigerian National Sport Festival

The 2020 edition of the biennial sporting event was set to take place in March 2020 at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium in Benin City, Edo State. However, due to the global health crisis occasioned by the COVID-19 pandemic, the event was postponed to December 2020. The sporting event further suffered another set back as a result of the second wave of the spread of the virus and the event was postponed to 2021. [6] [7]

WINNERS TABLE (1973 - 2022)

Below is a table displaying the host cities/states, winners, and years of each festival.

SNTOURNAMENTSTADIUMCITYSTATEYEARWINNER
1LAGOS '73NATIONAL STADIUM, SURULERE, LAGOSLAGOSLAGOS1973MID-WESTERN
2LAGOS '75NATIONAL STADIUM, SURULERE, LAGOSLAGOSLAGOS1975MID-WESTERN
3KADUNA '77AHMADU BELLO STADIUMKADUNAKADUNA1977BENDEL
4OLUYOLE '79LIBERTY STADIUMIBADANOYO1979BENDEL
5BENDEL '81BENIN CITYBENDEL1981BENDEL
6KWARA '85ILORINKWARA1985BENDEL
7RIVERS '88PORT HARCOURTRIVERS1988BENDEL
8LAGOS '89NATIONAL STADIUM, SURULERE, LAGOSLAGOSLAGOS1989LAGOS
9BAUCHI '91BAUCHIBAUCHI1991ZONE 2 (BENDEL, ONDO, RIVERS)
10BENUE '96MARKURDIBENUE1996LAGOS
11IMO '98OWERRIIMO1998LAGOS
12BAUCHI '00BAUCHIBAUCHI2000DELTA
13EDO '02BENIN CITYEDO2002EDO
14ABUJA '04ABUJAABUJA2004DELTA
15GATEWAY '06ABEOKUTAOGUN2006DELTA
16KADA '09KADUNAKADUNA2009DELTA
17RIVERS '11PORT HARCOURTRIVERS2011RIVERS
18LAGOS '12LAGOSLAGOS2012DELTA
19ABUJA '18ABUJAABUJA2018DELTA
20EDO '21BENIN CITYEDO2021DELTA
21DELTA '22ASABADELTA2022DELTA
22GATEWAY '24GATEWAY INTERNATIONAL STADIUMSHAGAMUOGUN2025

*In 1976, The Mid-Western state became known as Bendel State. Also, Bendel State was split into Edo and Delta states in 1991.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benin City</span> Capital city of Edo State, Nigeria

Benin City is the capital and largest city of Edo State, southern Nigeria. It is the fourth-largest city in Nigeria according to the 2006 census, after Lagos, Kano, and Ibadan. It is situated approximately 40 kilometres (25 mi) north of the Benin River and 320 kilometres (200 mi) by road east of Lagos. Benin City is the centre of Nigeria's rubber industry, and Palm oil production is also a significant industry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Delta State</span> State in southern Nigeria

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 which was later extended to 19 and now has 25 local government areas. Asaba as its state capital located along the River Niger on the northeastern end of the state, while the state's economic center is Warri on the southwestern coastline.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Moshood Abiola National Stadium</span> Sports venue in Abuja, Nigeria

Moshood Abiola National Stadium is a multipurpose national sports stadium located in Abuja, in the Federal Capital Territory of Nigeria. The stadium serves as a home to the Nigerian national football team, as well as a center for various social, cultural, and religious events. The Federal Government of Nigeria approved the contract for the construction of the National Stadium complex and Games Village on 18 July 2000. The stadium was constructed to host the 8th All Africa Games which took place in October 2003. On Wednesday, 12 June 2019, President Muhammadu Buhari announced the change of the name of the National Stadium, Abuja to Moshood Abiola National Stadium after former Nigerian politician chief M.K.O. Abiola. President Buhari made this pronouncement during his speech at the Democracy Day celebration at the Eagle Square, Abuja.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edo State</span> State of Nigeria

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.

Bendel Insurance Football Club, also known as Insurance of Benin Football Club or simply Bendel Insurance, is a football club based in Benin City, Nigeria. The club plays in the Nigeria Premier League. They were originally known as the Vipers of Benin. They play their home matches at Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, which has a capacity of 12,000. They are the current champions of the Federation Cup after defeating Enugu Rangers 1–0 at the Stephen Keshi Stadium in Asaba on June 21, 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Isoko South</span> LGA in Delta State, Nigeria

Isoko South is a local government area (LGA) in the Isoko region of Delta State, Nigeria. With its headquarters at Oleh, Nigeria, it is one of the two local governments that make up the Isoko region. The other is Isoko North, which has its headquarters at Ozoro.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium</span> Multi-use stadium in Nigeria

The Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Benin City, Nigeria. Originally known as Ogbe Stadium, it is currently used mostly for football matches and is the home stadium of Bendel Insurance FC and Edo Queens FC.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Agbazika Innih</span> Nigerian politician and general (1938–2002)

George Agbazika Innih was a Nigerian Army general and statesman. He was the military governor of Bendel and Kwara States.

Okpella is a clan situated along Benin-Abuja federal high way. Going by the last National Census figures, it has the population of 20,652 and is one of the three main towns that make up Etsako East Local Government Area of Edo State. It is made up of two sub-clans, each with their villages; Ogute sub-clan, which is made up of Ogute-Oke, Awuyemi, Imiekuri and Imiegeli villages, and Oteku sub-clan, comprising Komunio and Iddo. The language spoken in the clan is Okpella, a dialect of Bini which has evolved. Okpella is known for its natural sedimentary rock based mineral resources, which include limestone, calcium, and granite, feldspar, talc, clay, marble, and it plays host to the defunct Bendel Cement Factory, BUA Cement Factory and Dangote Cement Factory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Teslim Balogun Stadium</span> Stadium in Lagos, Nigeria

The Teslim Balogun Stadium is a multi-use stadium in Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria. It is used mostly for football matches and serves as a home ground of First Bank FC. The Nigeria national rugby league team also use the venue. The stadium has a capacity of 24,325 people, and is sometimes used for international football matches. It once served as the venue for the Nigerian Cup final, just before it hosted some matches in the 2009 FIFA U-17 World Cup youth tournament held in Nigeria. It sits adjacent to the Lagos National Stadium.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Samuel Ogbemudia</span> Nigerian politician

Samuel Osaigbovo Ogbemudia was a Nigerian army officer and politician. He was military Governor (1967–1975) of the Mid-West State, later renamed Bendel State, part of which in turn became Edo State After the return to democracy in 1999, he became a power in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). In September 2009, Governor Adams Oshiomhole of Edo state and others attended his 77th birthday celebration in Benin. He is noted as one of the founding fathers of the very prestigious University of Benin Teaching Hospital (UBTH)

<span class="mw-page-title-main">CSIT (Sports)</span> International sports organization

The CSIT – International Workers and Amateurs in Sports Confederation is an international multi-sports organization. It was established as the successor to Socialist Workers' Sport International and, as such, celebrated its centenary in 2013. The core principles of contributing to physical activity and sports have stayed in its action policy; upholding the right of men and women to do sports no matter what their professionalism levels are. The key concept of CSIT's sports policy has always been "Sports for all." The policy stems from the historical ideas of the international worker sport movement.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khelo India Youth Games</span> Youth sporting event

Khelo India Youth Games (KIYG), are the annual national level multidisciplinary grassroot games in India held in January or February for two categories, namely under-17 years school students and under-21 college students. Every year best 1,000 kids will be given an annual scholarship of 5 lakh (US$6,000) for 8 years to prepare them for the international sporting events.

The 1979 Bendel State gubernatorial election occurred on July 28, 1979. UPN's Ambrose Alli won election for a first term to become Bendel State's first executive governor leading and defeating main opposition in the contest.

Imaobong Nse Uko is a Nigerian athlete. She competed in the mixed 4 × 400 metres relay event at the 2020 Summer Olympics. The 17-year-old won the 400 metres at the 2021 World Under 20 Championships.

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.

Edo 2020 Sports Festival was the 20th edition of the Nigerian National Sports Festival, 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.

The National Youth Games Sports event in Nigeria is a brain child of the Goodluck Jonathan administration.

Ramat Park is an expansive urban park located in the city of Benin, in Edo State, Nigeria. Spanning an area of 15 acres, the park is an iconic landmark in the city, offering a tranquil escape for residents and visitors alike.

References

  1. Tell. Tell Communications Limited. 2009.
  2. Directory of Hotels and Catering Establishments in Nigeria. Jalo Consultants.
  3. Osaretin Emuze (18 November 2012). "National Sports Festival: 39 years after". Vanguard . Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  4. "History of Sports In Nigeria". Online Nigeria. Retrieved 16 September 2015.
  5. ">National Sports Festival - Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development". www.nigeriasportsfestival.org. Retrieved 2020-05-24.
  6. "Nigeria's National Sports Festival postponed again". 2020-12-15. Retrieved 2021-02-03.
  7. "National Sports Festival postponed till 2021". Punch Newspapers. Retrieved 2021-02-03.