Nigeria Moves To Rebuild Grassroots Sports Pathway With National Summit

Nigeria’s efforts to strengthen grassroots sports development will come under focus as stakeholders gather in Abuja for the National Grassroots Sports Development Summit 2026.

The two-day summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 at the Banquet Hall, State House, Presidential Villa, Abuja, is being organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Prince Adeyinka Adegboye.

The summit has the theme, “Creating a New Pathway for Sustainable Grassroots Sports Development.”

The organisers said the gathering would focus on strengthening the foundation of Nigerian sports and establishing a coordinated pathway for identifying, nurturing and developing sporting talent from the grassroots to the elite level.

The summit comes amid growing calls for reforms in Nigerian sports, particularly in the areas of talent identification, coaching, facilities, competitions, athlete welfare and long-term development programmes.

Nigeria has produced several athletes who have excelled at continental and global competitions, but many young talents across schools, communities and local government areas continue to lack access to structured opportunities for discovery and development.

The summit is expected to examine ways of addressing the gap by linking grassroots talent identification with coaching, education, facilities, regular competition and clear progression routes to elite sport.

One of the major sessions, “Grassroots Sports Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Way Forward,” will examine the challenges limiting the country’s ability to harness its sporting potential and consider practical solutions.

Another keynote discussion, “The Game Changer: How Sports Rescues Youth and Builds Nations,” will examine the wider role of sport in youth empowerment, education, employment, social inclusion, national unity and economic development.

The organisers said a structured grassroots sports system could help young Nigerians develop discipline, teamwork, leadership and confidence while creating pathways to education, professional careers and entrepreneurship within the wider sports industry.

Representatives of government at different levels, sports federations, educational institutions, coaches, athletes, former internationals, academies, corporate organisations, development partners, traditional institutions, community stakeholders and the media are expected to participate in the summit.

The organisers also stressed the need for greater private-sector involvement in grassroots sports, noting that sustainable development would require investment in facilities, equipment, competitions, coaching, scholarships, talent identification and athlete development.

The summit is expected to shift the conversation from simply identifying Nigeria’s next sporting champions to developing a system capable of producing and supporting them.

The organisers said the ultimate objective was to ensure that sporting talent is not lost because of a lack of facilities, coaching or opportunities, regardless of where a young athlete is born.

They added that the summit would seek to promote a national system in which talented youngsters identified in schools and communities can be nurtured, educated, trained and provided with opportunities to progress from grassroots competition to the national and international stages.

The event is being positioned as part of efforts to establish a coordinated national pathway for grassroots sports development and strengthen the foundation of Nigeria’s future sporting success.