The National Sports Commission (NSC) and state Directors of Sports have resolved disagreements that threatened to lead some states to boycott the 2026 National Sports Festival, scheduled to take place in Enugu later this year. The conflict arose when the NSC initially proposed reducing the number of events to 15, which concerned many states that had already invested resources in preparing athletes for sports that were to be excluded.
Meeting in Abuja
During an extraordinary meeting held in Abuja over the weekend, the NSC Director General, Bukola Olopade, along with executive members and zonal representatives, agreed to increase the number of events to 27. Olopade explained that certain team sports were initially omitted due to their high costs, as they yield only one medal compared to individual sports. He also affirmed the Federal Government's commitment to sponsoring competitions through sports federations at least four times annually, providing athletes with exposure to prepare for international events.
List of Approved Sports
The meeting approved the following sports for the Coal City Games: athletics, para athletics, badminton, para badminton, basketball, wheelchair basketball, boxing, cycling, football, gymnastics, judo, mixed martial arts, swimming, table tennis, para table tennis, tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, para powerlifting, and wrestling. Optional sports include cricket, canoeing, para canoeing, darts, golf, shooting, and para shooting.
The Coal City Festival in Enugu is set to take place between November and December 2026. Additionally, the National Intermediate Games, originally scheduled for August in Lagos, will now be held from October 1 to 15, 2026, while the National Youth Games has been postponed from this year to the first quarter of 2027.
