Registration for NDSF State Trials Opens

Local government trials leading to each state’s team selection for the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) will commence on February 20 and end on March 3, 2025.

Co-Chairman of the Technical Committee for the festival, Enefiok Udo-Obong, announced the date while also providing registration details and other programmes of events for the maiden edition of the festival.

“We have already determined that the Festival finals will hold in Akwa Ibom State from April 1-8.

“Registration forms are being distributed to the States Liaison Committees that would supervise the Local Government and Federal Constituency trials. The forms can be obtained from LG, Federal Constituency, and Senatorial District headquarters of each member state,” disclosed Udo-Obong, a Sydney 2000 Olympic Games 4x400m relay gold medalist.

He further announced that the Organising Committee has fixed March 10 to 12 for state trials to select the contingents that will be registered from March 15 to 20.

Other pre-festival activities include a closed camping of registered states’ athletes and coaches from March 25 to 31.

“We are using this festival to prepare Niger Delta States for the National Sports Festival as we hope to use the NDSF as a springboard for the member states to select their very best and prepare them adequately for the national competition,” Udo-Obong explained.

About 2,886 athletes are expected to compete for honours in 17 sports at the festival.

The maiden NDSF is open to the nine states that made 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.