Reduction in Number of Sports’ll Make Sports Festival Competitive, Prestigious, Commercially Attractive — NSC

The National Sports Commission (NSC) has defended the exclusion of some sports, including Deaf Sports, from the National Sports Festival, saying participation should be based on established competitive standards.
Michael Obasi, Special Assistant on Media to the Director-General of the NSC, Bukola Olopade, said the commission was repositioning the festival to become more competitive, prestigious and commercially attractive.
The athletes from the Deaf Sports Federation embarked on a protest in Lagos on Monday, following their exclusion from the festival scheduled to hold between Nov. 27 and Dec. 11 in Enugu.
Obasi said the decision was not intended to deliberately exclude any federation but to ensure that only sports meeting the required standards featured at the festival.
“NSC is adopting an Olympic-style model in which sports federations will demonstrate consistent competitive activities before qualifying for major sporting events,” he said.
According to him, the festival, often described as Nigeria’s mini-Olympics, should not be treated as an all-comers event where federations participate without organising competitions throughout the year.
“The festival is not just a place for jamboree. Before you are qualified to feature at the festival, that means that sport has been doing a good show in all states.
“Some federations have allegedly failed to organise regular competitions but depended on the festival to bring their athletes together.
“The commission is determined to change the practice by ensuring that federations maintain active programmes and demonstrate their commitment to developing their respective sports,” Obasi said.
The NSC media aide said the Director-General had explained the policy to sports federations at a meeting of the National Council on Sports in Calabar.
He urged federations whose sports were affected to engage the commission constructively and present convincing arguments for their inclusion rather than resort to public accusations.
“Some federations have been coming behind to make genuine arguments for their sport.
“Rather than blackmail the sports commission, they should make genuine arguments for their sport,” he said.
The media aide, however, acknowledged that funding constraints could be a possible factor in decisions to reduce the number of sports at the festival.
He maintained that federations should demonstrate the value and competitiveness of their disciplines.
He said the commission’s broader objective was to make the festival more marketable and glamorous while encouraging federations to develop their sports beyond the periodic national competition.
Obasi cited the Olympic Games as an example of a major sporting event with qualification criteria, noting that not every sport automatically secured a place.
He said the NSC wanted the National Sports Festival to reflect similar principles by rewarding sustained sporting development and encouraging federations to organise competitions regularly.
The media aide urged affected federations to engage the commission through appropriate channels to explain why their sports deserved inclusion.
He said such engagement would provide an opportunity for the federations to present their positions and for the commission to consider their arguments.