Deborah Akinyosoye
No fewer than 23 states have arrived in Ogun State for the National Sports Festival tagged ‘Gateway Games’ 2024.
The News Agency of Nigeria reports that the biennial festival is to officially commence on Sunday.
The Director General, National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, made the disclosure in an interview with NAN on Saturday in Abeokuta.
Olopade told NAN that there were visible signs that the state would host the best festival in the history of the country.
“Twenty-three states are already in the camp; their feeding and welfare are top-notch and seamless.
“I just spoke with leaders of four states who are already praising the state.
“Globally, if you have an event of this nature, the first thing is accommodation and feeding,” he said.
NAN observed that finishing touches were ongoing at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, venue of the opening ceremony. Different cultural troops were at the main bowl of the stadium rehearsing performances for the ceremony.
Some sports fans and analysts who spoke to NAN expressed confidence that the festival would surpass the successes recorded in the last edition in Delta State.
An Abeokuta-based sports journalist, Mr Abiodun Alabi, told NAN that he believed that the sports festival would be better than the previous edition.
Alabi expressed hope that new talents would be discovered from the festival.
”The event will throw more talents that will go on to represent Nigeria at national and international events. It will also create expected economic opportunities for the people of the state.
“The game already left a legacy in terms of infrastructure; the MKO Abiola Stadium, with its new look and capacity, can now host major international events,” he said.
”Already we have three events coming after this festival, and that’s clearly one of the things that come with a national sports festival.
A sports fan, Mr Micheal Adesanya, expressed confidence that the festival would come out as a good event in terms of the quality of athletes and talent discovery.
Adesanya noted that the festival was to promote unity among Nigerians.
He appealed to the organisers not to politicise the games, calling on authorities to ensure that proper talents were discovered to replace ageing ones.
NAN