*Delta State retains title

As the 22nd National Sports Festival (NSF), tagged “Gateway Games 2024” ended in a colourful closing ceremony yesterday Thursday May 29, 2025 at the MKO Abiola Sports Complex in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, defending champions, Delta retained title with a haul of 328 medals overall.

The 11 days sporting fiesta, which attracted over 10,000 athletes and officials from all over Nigeria, also boosted the economy of hosts, Ogun State as it witnessed bustling business activities while it lasted.

Team Delta hauled a massive 328 medals, comprising of 122 gold, 96 silver and 105 bronze, to win the Games again.

Team Bayelsa settled for second position, after garnering 222 medals, consisting of 91 gold, 61 silver and 70 bronze, while hosts, Ogun complete the top three with 232 medals, made up of 90 gold, 64 silver and 78 bronze.

After the 11 days of a true showcase of sporting competition in multiple sports by some of the country’s top and even promising athletes, the curtain was finally drawn on what many have described as one of the best ever organised National Sports festivals.

The Games have showcased Ogun state as a true sporting hub with potential to even do more, with the quality of the facilities built for the Games and the enthusiasm of the people who made the various venues their second home in the last few days.

The Games actually lived up to the pre-tournament hype as both the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Ogun state Government pulled out every administrative capacity to ensure both athletes, officials and the media have an unforgettable experience.

The Gateway Games 2024 had been full of exciting drama and intrigues amongst the states and athletes which led to different new records being set and some old records being shattered.

The festival has also produced for the country some new exciting young talents especially with the shocking performance of the 38th state, the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA), where they ended up winning some surprised medals to justify the Commission’s establishment of the initiative.

The leadership of the NSC expresses its profound gratitude to the Federal Government of Nigeria and the Ogun State Government for making sure millions of Nigerian youths see a renewed brighter future in the country through the National Sports Festival.

The NSC Chairman, Mallam Shehu Dilko said “our overwhelming gratitude goes to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu,GCFR, for his personal commitment to the development of Nigerian sports by giving us every support financially and otherwise for the success of this festival”.

“And the Ogun state Governor, Dapo Abiodun also deserves a huge praise for the feat we all recorded with these games. I can’t thank him enough and posterity will surely remember him for good “.

The NSC Director General who is also the Chairman of the Main organising Committee (MOC) of the Games, Hon Bukola Olopade extended his gratitude to all the technocrats behind the scene that are responsible for the successful organisation of the Games.

“From all the members of the MOC to the various Sub Committees, to members of the Local Organising Committees (LOC) and all our technical officials in the various sports to the media and our athletes, every success that everyone is talking about concerning these Games belongs to you all”.

“Yes it was not a perfect festival because we acknowledged we had also some challenges but let me assure everyone that some of the challenges are already being worked upon ahead of the next Games holding in Enugu state next year”, he concluded.

The President of the Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), Isaiah Kemje Benjamin who was one of the top dignitaries at the closing ceremony, praised the organisers for putting up a befitting NSF.

Speaking to journalists on the sidelines of the closing ceremony, he said that the NSC and host State, Ogun should be commended for doing a good job.

He tasked the hosts of the 23rd edition, Enugu state, to learn from the experience and improve on the standard when sports stakeholders converge on Enugu the state capital next year.

He further tasked the Enugu State Government to take note of lapses recorded and ensure such gaps are closed.