Olopade Hails Nigeria’s Hosting Rights For 2028 African Table Tennis Championships

National Sports Commission (NSC) Director-General Bukola Olopade has described Nigeria’s emergence as host of the 2028 International Table Tennis Federation (ITTF) African Championships as a major milestone for the country’s sports sector.

Olopade said the hosting rights reflected growing international confidence in Nigeria as a destination for major sporting competitions and aligned with President Bola Tinubu’s Renewed Hope agenda for sports development.

Nigeria defeated Tunisia by 23 votes to 15 to secure the hosting rights at the African Table Tennis Federation’s Annual General Meeting in Morocco.

The country was also awarded the hosting rights for the 2027 Africa Para Table Tennis Championships, following the announcement of host nations for continental senior and youth competitions in 2027 and 2028.

Olopade said securing the tournaments fulfilled part of the mandate given to him and NSC chairman Shehu Dikko by President Tinubu to reposition Nigeria’s sports sector and make the country more attractive to international sporting events.

“This was one of the clear mandates Mr President gave to Mallam Shehu Dikko and me when he appointed us to revamp the country’s sports landscape — to make Nigeria more attractive as an international sports destination,” he said.

The NSC director-general added that hosting international competitions was a key pillar of the commission’s Renewed Hope Initiative for Nigeria’s Sports Economy (RHINSE), which seeks to shift the country’s focus from merely consuming sports to producing and hosting major sporting events.

“One of the pillars of our RHINSE agenda is concentrating on sports production, which is the hosting of major international competitions rather than only sports consumption,” Olopade said.

He noted that Nigeria had hosted several international sporting competitions and events in Lagos, Abuja, Abeokuta and Abia State over the past two years, adding that the activities had contributed to the country’s sports economy and gross domestic product.

Olopade assured the International Table Tennis Federation and the wider African table tennis community that Nigeria would deliver a world-class championship in 2028.

He said the country was committed to making the tournament a reference point for future continental competitions.

Nigeria is also preparing to host the Confederation of African Football Congress in Abuja and the CAF Awards in Lagos, further expanding its role as a destination for major international sporting events.

The statement was signed by Kola Daniel, special adviser on media to the NSC director-general, on Friday.