Sports

NSC DG, Olopade Commends Cricket Federation, as Nigeria Wins ICC Men’s T20 Sub-Regional Tourney

Published

6 months ago

November 29, 2024

Nigeria’s men’s cricket team has emerged victorious in the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup Sub-Regional Africa Qualifier C, defeating Botswana in a thrilling top-of-the-table clash on Thursday to seal their spot.

Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, was on hand to support the team at the event, as he hailed the cricket family.

Speaking after the victory, he praised the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) and its president, Uyi Akpata, for their transformative efforts in advancing the sport in Nigeria.

“I’m extremely proud, not just of the victory recorded today, but also of what my senior brother, Uyi Akpata, and his team have achieved with the Nigerian Cricket Federation,” Olopade said.

“When you look at this Oval and hear the story of how it became an ICC-standard facility, you marvel at the effort and passion they’ve put in. This aligns with President Tinubu’s vision of bringing the private sector on board to drive sports development.”

He also highlighted the rapid progress cricket has made in Nigeria, pointing to the recent success of the Nigeria U-19 women’s cricket team, which secured Africa’s sole ticket to the ICC U-19 Women’s World Cup, set to be held in Malaysia in 2025.

“Already, I’ve promised to be present to support the U-19 female team,” he added.

Olopade stressed the importance of diversifying Nigeria’s sports focus:
“We need to de-emphasize the pedagogy of one sport being bigger than others. Cricket is massive globally, and it is gratifying to see Nigeria making inroads in the sport. The NSC will support the federation, just as we do with others. Beyond growing participation, we want to build a sustainable economy around the sports ecosystem.”

Nigeria dominated the tournament with an unbeaten record, securing five wins out of five. Other participating teams included Sierra Leone, Eswatini, Côte d’Ivoire, and St. Helena.

Hon. Olopade concluded that the victory underscores the growing prominence of cricket in Nigeria, thanks to strategic investments and the dedication of stakeholders, positioning the country as a rising force in the global cricket scene.

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Sports

A Triumphant Close to the 22nd National Sports Festival

Published

3 days ago

May 29, 2025

The Gleamer

…As organisers promise another spectacle at closing ceremony on Thursday

Joel Ajayi

After 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple Sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain will finally be drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals, when the closing ceremony is held on Thursday at the MKO Sports Arena in Abeokuta.

Whilst the quality of the Games’ opening ceremony is still getting tongues wagging, the entire sporting family and beyond is now anxiously looking forward to what the closing ceremony will look like.

The last 11 days have showcased Ogun state as a true Sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.

A big testament to this was the history-making crowd that attended the male football final between Ogun state and Kwara State, which the host won by 4-1.

The MKO stadium was filled to full capacity while the crowd outside watching from the big screen reminds one of how much Sports is truly the soul of our togetherness as a country.

From the Alake Sports centre in Ijeja and the Baptist boys high school, to the Obafemi Awolowo square and the Remo stadium both in Ikenne, to the NYSC orientation camp in Shagamu, and the Ilisan town hall in Ilisan, the festival never lacked spectatorship throughout the games.

The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission, NSC and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.

The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.

The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes ( IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.

As the Closing ceremony holds on Thursday, the leadership of the National Sports commission, NSC, expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.
The NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dilko said ” our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian Sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.

” And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.

The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising committee of the games, Hon Bukola Olopade also extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the games.

” From all the members of the Main organising committee to the various sub committees, to members of the local organising committees and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.

” Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.

The Closing ceremony is expected to bring together top Government functionaries to captain of industries while there will also be the rich cultural display of the state as Ogun state will officially pass the barton of hosting to Enugu state for the 23rd edition of the Games come September 2026.

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