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🇳🇬 Nigeria /Culture & Society

LOC to Use EKO 2026 to Drive School Sports Devt

From ThisDay · () English

Summarized by DistantNews. Read the original for the full story.

At a glance

News Named sources New plan
  • Lagos will host the first National Intermediate Games, EKO 2026, from Oct. 1 to 15, with about 15,000 athletes expected from Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
  • Organizers say the event will create a long-term system for identifying and developing young athletes through school and grassroots sports.
  • The Games will build on Lagos’ investment in sports facilities across several districts.

Lagos organizers say EKO 2026 will be more than a competition. The first National Intermediate Games will be used to develop school sports and create a lasting route for identifying and nurturing young talent.

The event is scheduled for Lagos from Oct. 1 to 15, 2026, and is expected to draw about 15,000 athletes from Nigeria’s 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory. Organizers want the Games to connect school sports and grassroots participation with elite competition.

Sam Egube, chairman of the Local Organising Committee, said athletes would receive incentives, support opportunities and training after the event. “This is a commitment to human development and to encouraging our sporting system,” he said. Egube also said new schools would include modern sporting facilities so talent could develop within school programmes.

The initiative forms part of Lagos’ broader sports infrastructure investment. Organizers said the state began upgrading facilities about three years ago in Surulere, Ifako, Bariga, Ikorodu, Epe, Agege and Badagry. They expect EKO 2026 to help retain promising athletes in Nigeria and build a grassroots system capable of producing future national and international competitors.

This is a commitment to human development and to encouraging our sporting system.

— Sam EgubeThe Local Organising Committee chairman described the wider purpose of EKO 2026.
About this summary

Originally published by ThisDay. Summarized and contextualized automatically by DistantNews, with a note on how the source frames the story. Not individually reviewed before publishing. How this works.

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