Tag: NDSF

Technical Committee Co-Chairman of the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF), Enefiok Udo-Obong , has announced that the registration portal would be closed on February 28 as he urged State Liaison Committees to double their efforts at facilitating registration of athletes in their respective states. He hinted that there will be a reward for the state with highest entries. 

Udo-Obong spoke in a virtual review meeting of the Technical/Facilities Committee and the States Liaison members.

He also seized the opportunity to remind them of the eligibility rules, emphasising that, “the only eligibility criteria are being an indigene of a Niger Delta Development Commission state and being under 25 years of age”.

He disclosed that an exception to the age cap rule is for football and boxing where professionals and League players are not qualified to register.

“We excluded the Para Sports from the age cap, there is no age limit in those sports. But Olympians who are under 25 years are eligible to participate”.

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Further  check on the registration data shows that more entries have been received for athletics, followed by football and Para athletics.

On a state by state registration scale, Delta State is ahead of the rest and are trailed by Ondo, Bayelsa, Akwa Ibom and Edo states.

The Australia 2000 Olympics gold medallist in the 4x400m relay disclosed that he has secured the confidence of the Main Organising Committee (MOC) Co-Chairman, Itiako Ikpokpo for a reward to the top three states in the registration ladder.

The NDSF is the very first regional sports festival in the country and will hold in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State from April 1-9. The festival is sponsored by the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) for athletes indigenous to the nine mandate states of the Commission.

Over 3000 athletes are expected to participate in 17 select sports.

Interested athletes who are willing to participate in the maiden edition of Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) will now have the opportunity to do their registration online following the uploading of the form on the NDSF portal.

The Co-Chairman of the Technical Committee, Enefiok Udo-Obong, who announced the development, said the decision is to ease the process for intending athletes spread across the nine member states.

 “While athletes can still obtain hard copy forms at designated collections points, we believe that for ease of registration, they can go online and fill out the forms”, Udo-Obong said in an interview with NDSF Media.

The registration site is: https://nigerdeltasportfestival.com

Meanwhile, the Australia 2000 Olympic 4x400m gold medallist disclosed that the local government and federal constituency trial dates have been adjusted to allow states to participate in the qualifying events of the National Sports Festival ball games which coincided with the earlier scheduled date of February 20.

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 “Consequent upon this adjustment, we have also rejigged dates for the state trials and closed camping.

 “The LG and Constituency trials will now hold from February 25. Afterwards, the states will hold their finals and closed camping,” he stated.

Udo-Obong also noted that the longer period for registration will provide time and opportunity for all interested sportsmen and women within the region to register for the trials.

About 3000 athletes are expected to compete for honours in 17 sports at the festival.

The maiden NDSF is open to the nine states that make up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). The states are Abia, Akwa Ibom, Bayelsa, Cross River, and Delta. Others are Edo, Imo, Ondo, and Rivers.

The NDDC is the major sponsor of the festival, which seeks to spot and nurture sportsmen and women from the region to provide them platforms to express their innate talent through sports.