By Miracle Ogunde
The 2024 National Sports Festival has been postponed for the second time.
During the closing ceremony of the 21st NSF on December 10, 2022, the Ogun State government won the bid to host the festival in November 2024.
Information has it that the 22nd Sports Festival, tagged “Gateway Games, Ogun 2024”, will now be held between May 16 and 30, 2025, after being scheduled to be held in January.
Reports have it that the festival was initially postponed to January 12, 2025 due to some unforeseen occurrence and lack of preparedness of the state.
The latest postponement was announced in a communique released after a Joint Technical meeting held on Thursday night in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The Communique was signed by the Director General of the National Sports Commission, who doubles as the Chairman of the Main Organising Committee, Adebukola Olopade and the State Commissioner for Sports, Wasiu Isiaka.
“The JT meeting agreed that 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 stated.
The JT meeting also agreed that to guide the state ahead of the Games, the report on the Inspection of the Venues and Facilities of the 1st Joint Technical Meeting will be used as a checklist.
In his remarks, the state Commissioner for Sports Development, Wasiu Isiaka, expressed satisfaction with the decision, adding that the shift in date would enable the state government to further develop the ecosystem for hosting the top National Sports Festival, which will serve as a benchmark in the near future.
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