The Leadership Board of the NDSC rose from its regular meeting on 26 August with a resolution that will excite many Nigerian sports stars in foreign lands – many of whom have been seeking ways through which their talent can be exposed outside of their living environment.
At the meeting, Chairman Tunde Adelakun updated members of the numerous conversations he has had with the leadership of the National Sports Commission which culminated in the resolved to present a Team Diaspora to future National Sports Festivals in Nigeria, starting with the next one in 2026.
This means that, when the festival takes place next, the 36 states, the federal capital territory and the Invited Juniors, each registered as a competing state in the competitions, will be joined by the Invited Diaspora Athletes as a 39th competing state.
According to Dr Tunde, “this will give diaspora athletes a sense of belonging, afford them the opportunity to visit Nigeria and identify with their roots. What’s more, it presents a level playing field for athletes to compete and earn the right to represent Nigeria in global competitions in future”.
Explaining further, the passionate Chairman, who wears everything that represents Nigerian sport on his heart, said “many of the athletes to continental and global tourneys are selected from national meets in other countries. There is therefore nothing alien in using our National Festival in Nigeria as a benchmark for qualification to compete in the Commonwealth Games, the African Games or future Olympics”.
The selection process for athletes to take part in the next National Festival, scheduled for Enugu in October of 2026, has started in earnest as, in the feedback from the Leadership Board, ‘we need to show how it should be done, and start to prepare early for this Festival so that we can go there and make a mark. While it is not about winning medals, a good showing that will be the foundation of creating a good legacy for diaspora Nigerians to buy into is paramount on our minds”.
The Board opined that individual sports will be the main ones they will focus on recruiting from, but did not rule out a coordinated team entry if any such of comes forward.
NDSC is therefore calling on all diaspora sports persons, athletes of Nigerian descent living abroad, parent and a guardians who want to create a pathway for their wards into elite sport, to make contact and register their interest to hello@nigeriadiasporasports.com “for us to start building Team Diaspora from now!”