Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola

Minister of Sports and Chairman, National Sports Commission (NSC), Mallam Bolaji Abdullahi, and Lagos State Governor Babatunde Fashola will Thursday unveil the icons for the 18th National Sports Festival tagged Eko 2012.

The minister, who returned to the country Wednesday from the ongoing African Athletics Championships in Port Novo, Benin Republic is the special guest of honour while Governor Fashola is the chief host.

The icons - mascot, logo and website - for the sporting fiesta holding in November this year will be made public by the Local Organising Committee (LOC).

The Secretary General of LOC, Dr. Kweku Tandoh, said the event would afford corporate companies to identify with the fiesta with the aim to harness the marketing opportunities the competition would offer.

“The official unveiling of what has been termed ‘the icons of Eko 2012’ will be unveiled by Fashola and the sports minister today. The icons are the logo, mascot, and the official website which the festival will be identified and will give character to the event. We are also using the event as an opportunity to reach out to the corporate sector, as the governor will be speaking to them and a little documentary that will highlight the marketing opportunities that are available for corporate partners will be shown.

“The marketing sub-committee will also be giving out marketing documents that have been prepared and that would show the various categorisations of partnership and sponsorship that are available,” Tandoh explained.

Meanwhile, the Main Organising Committee (MOC) Wednesday in Lagos organised online accreditation training for the states to ensure that athletes register for the championship online before the competition.

The online registration was tested at the last festival in Port Harcourt, River State, while this year’s event would witness the take-off of the system for all participants.