Tag: NDSF

The on-going Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDCC) may have yielded instant success  with the identification of budding  athletes in football, table tennis, wrestling, athletics and some other events.

This is a direct outcome to the engagement of over 20 coaches, retired elite athletes, and scouts who have been on ground to scout potentials expected to be groomed and honed to international stardom.

Francis Sule, a member of the Scouting and Mentorship committee of the NDSF, said he was overjoyed with the standard of play from the young athletes.

“I am very impressed with what I have seen on the ground so far. Numerous talents abound in the Niger Delta Region, and I can confidently show you the athletes that will replace Funke Oshonaike, Aruna Quadri, and Bose Kaffo in this festival,” the former Nigeria table tennis captain and now, a grass roots coach, told the NDSF media.” I have selected young boys and girls who met the criteria for subsequent nurturing and developmental programmes.”

Similarly,  Paul Omamomo,  a FIFA licensed football scout  and one of the NDSF’s scouts said: “We’re faced with the daunting task of picking the very best from the NDSF because of the unbelievable talents that myself, Victor Ikpeba and the other football scouts have seen here. So I can confidently say that we’ve found the new Austin Okocha, Daniel Amokachi, Sunday Oliseh and many more”.

Olympian and United States-based Gabriel Opuana told social media Influencer, Chief Suo that he has identified a Shot-put thrower but declined to name her.

Read Also: Beyond the game: 10 Super Eagles players with academic degrees

“There is a girl that has shown very good potential and I’ll be speaking with her after her event. Now is not the right time to let her know she is good as it may distract her, but I’ll speak to her after their final throw”, Opuana said in a Facebook live post.

Olympics silver medallist in wrestling, Blessing Oborududu who is in Uyo as one of the Games Ambassador, and also doubles as a scout, has no doubt in her mind that replacements for her and many others have been discovered at the NDSF.

 “What gladdens my heart is that this competition has thrown up young athletes who will replace me and the others. I want to thank the Niger Delta Development Commission for doing this for the kids of this region,” she said.

For Mary Onyali, one of the festival’s  celebrity sports personalities, there is cause for celebration “because what we’ve clamoured for over the years is finally being done by the NDDC. I want to thank them for this innovation, thank you NDSF for giving us a platform to identify the country’s future athletes. I can beat my chest and say that future athletes have been discovered here and I’m excited”.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the scouting and mentorship committee, Godwin Enakhena, has commended the NDDC for this initiative.

“The NDDC deserves our commendation for doing this for the Niger Delta Region. The NDSF is timely because of the poor state of sports developmental in Nigeria. This is one of its kind for a sports festival. What is uniquely different is that the plan is not to leave this meticulous task for the states but we have assembled the best hands to identify,  nurture, encourage and promote these athletes in every way we can in achieving the overall goal of the NDDC for sports in the Niger Delta region and Nigeria as a whole.”

Pastor Umo Bassey Eno, the Akwa Ibom State Governor, has commended the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for organizing the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF), noting that it will  boost and promote sports tourism in the region while also discovering talents for national and international competitions.

“This is a huge opportunity provided by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), and I want to encourage everyone of you to take this seriously. From here, talents could be discovered for national and international competitions,” the governor said during a visit to the state’s athletes camp at the Dakkada Skills Acquisition Centre (DASAC) in Ikot Ada Idem in Ibiono Ibom Local Government area.

Read Also: Super Eagles can qualify for 2026 World Cup If…

The NDSF host state is also aiming to top the Medals table as the state Governor during the visit promised cash reward for podium finishers.

He made the promise when he addressed some athletes from the state during an unscheduled visit to the DASAC camp.

Eno said his administration remains committed to sports development and urged the athletes to reciprocate the gesture by making the state proud at the games, assuring that the government will reward all the medallists.

“We cannot host this event and don’t win medals, so for every Gold, Silver or Bronze medal, there will be reward. I will receive you immediately after the games and I will reward the winners,” he said.

Over 300 athletes will represent Akwa Ibom in 17 sports at the Niger Delta Games starting from April 1 to 9 across different centres in the state.

The chairman of Scouting and Mentorship Committee of the inaugural Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) Godwin Enakhena said the  committee is poised to pick  the best budding athletes from the Niger Delta region during the event holding  between  April 1 and  8 in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State.

Enakhena also emphasized the committee’s commitment to unearthing talents that will emulate  Nigeria’s  sports icons like Tobiloba Amusan, Ese Brume, Blessing Oborodudu, Odunayo Adekuoroye, Austine Jay Jay Okocha and many others.

Aside discovering of new athletes, the veteran sports journalist stressed  that the Niger Delta region will regain its position as the number one sports hub in the country.

Enakhena said: “The committees’ primary responsibility is to ensure that the best athletes from the 17 sporting events that will feature at the festival are selected by a group of professionals comprising local and foreign coaches and scouts. This Herculean task requires a collaborative effort to identify and showcase the region’s budding talents. The selected athletes will tell the story of the success of the inaugural Niger Delta Sports Festival and the talents that abound in the region.”

Read Also: Morocco 2025: Flamingos off to  South Africa for Bantwana test

Enakhena, who has successfully midwifed football and sports teams in Nigeria added that: “The NDSF will afford the Niger Delta region the opportunity to regain its number one position in sports, not only as a reservoir of talents but to dominate sports in Nigeria like it used to in the past. In carrying out this assignment, the committee will work as a unit, ensuring that standards are not compromised across board. Only the very best athletes will be picked and showcased to the world through the aid of technology and the invitation of foreign scouts to Nigeria during the event.”

“The Festival is more than just a sporting event. It is a platform for empowering the youth, promoting peace and unity, and showcasing the rich cultural heritage of our region. By participating in the festival, individuals are contributing to a brighter future for the Niger Delta. This is where passion meets opportunity, showcasing the region’s culture, empowering its youth, and uniting the region in celebration.”

Enakhena commended the NDSF Main Organizing committee for appointing Nigerian sports icons like Nwankwo Kanu, Victor Ikpeba and Blessing Oborodudu to lead a strong field of accomplished athletes as the Festival Ambassadors to mentor and inspire the upcoming athletes.

Other members of the committee are Mrs Aniekan Ibezim, Engr. Uwanna Jacob, George Essien who will act as spokesperson, Anthony Alabra Ojo, Paul Omamomo and Okah Akpotha Fidelis.

Over 10,000 entries have been received in slightly over a week since the registration portal for the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) was opened on February 25.

Enefiok Udo-Obong, the Co-Chairman of the Technical Committee released the figures  yesterday and commended the State Liaison Committee members for driving the process in their states.

Perhaps, trying to reflect its position as the first state in alphabetical order in the country, Abia State is in the lead with 1957 entries as at 6am yesterday.

Ondo and Delta States follow in second and third place with 1168 and 1068 entries respectively.

In the registration by sporting events, Athletics has the biggest entry of 2199 and is followed by football and Volleyball with 1793 and 772 respectively. Other sporting events with impressive numbers are Handball with 664, Swimming-551, Basketball- 515 and Tennis with 505 entries.

Udo-Obong however expressed special pleasure with the numbers in some Sports such as Traditional Wrestling, Wrestling, Scrabble, Chess, Canoeing and Para-athletics which are all above 300.

Read Also: NSC: N100m ‘guaranteed bond’ may hamper  sports federations’ elections

“We are happy with how the registration is going so far with over 10,000 hits in eight days,” Udo-Obong remarked. “Some states have done very well while some others need to do better. They all have four more days to ramp up registration.”

With the registration portal closing on Friday, March 7, the organisers, Dunamis Icon warns that states that fail to register to compete in all 17 sports would be considered ineligible to participate in the local government and federal constituency trials.

The Technical Committee also announced the names of Technical Leads for the 17 sporting events who have been charged to supervise the state and local government trials.

The NDSF is a sports intervention project of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) with Dunamis Icon as the project consultants. The festival is for athletes indigenous to the nine NDDC mandate states who must not be above the age of 25 and have not engaged in professional football and boxing.

Elo Akose, the winner of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) logo design competition, has expressed delight to see his work gaining national traction through extensive media campaign as preparations for the festival heightens.

Akose, who received a reward of N250,000 prize money, commended the organisers of the contest for providing a platform for youths to showcase their artistic talents in design.

Akose’s entry emerged the best from over 300 others that were submitted to a panel of judges set up by the project consultants, Dunamis Icon, weeks ago. The design has since been officially put to use.

Read Also: Ikoyi Club 1938 Golf captain Adekunle bows out in grand style

“I counted myself lucky to have had my entry selected from the over 300 submitted by other contestants and would like to thank the organisers of the Niger Delta Sports Festival for the opportunity given to all of us, the contestants to be part of this project,” Akose told NDSF Media.

Akose works with Smax Digital Prints and holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Education (Economics) from the Delta State University.

The NDSF, the first intervention of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as part of its 25th anniversary, will hold in Akwa Ibom State between  April 1 and 9 with over 3,000 athletes expected to participate in 17 sports.