Gateway 2024 Sports Festival ‘ll be different — Olopade

Athletes getting set for a relay event at the National Sports. Ogun State will host an ‘entirely different’ Games in 2024

Seventeen years ago, Ogun State hosted the National Sports Festival, which was declared as one of the best in the fiesta’s history. The Gateway 2006 Games was staged during the Gbenga Daniel’s administration, with Bukola Olopade as Sports Commissioner.

Now, Ogun State is gearing up to host the 22nd edition of the National Sports Festival in 2024, and Olopade, who is Chairman of the Local Organising Committee (LOC), said it would be ‘different.’

On Tuesday, Sports Minister, John Enoh, inaugurated the Main Organising Committee (MOC) for the Games, with a charge to the committee to work hard to deliver a seamless and successful event next year.

Olopade, who is also the vice chairman of the MOC, told The Guardian, yesterday, that the Gateway 2024 National Sports Festival would break many records, both in the area of organisation, attendance and glamour.

Three states in the southwest region have hosted the National Sports Festival since it began in 1973. While Lagos has hosted it several times, Ibadan, Oyo State capital, hosted it ones, ‘Oluyole 79’. But Ogun State is aspiring to join the list of states to have staged the fiesta twice, having hosted it in 2006.

Apart from Lagos and Edo states, only three states and the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have hosted the fiesta twice. They are Kaduna (1977 and 2009), Bauchi (1991 and 2000) and Rivers (1988 and 2011). The FCT hosted it in 2004 and 2018. Kwara hosted it once in 1985, Benue in 1986, Imo in 1988 and Delta in 2022.

According to Olopade, one major area that will make Gateway 2024 Games different from other National Sports Festival is the involvement of