Tinubu Aide Intensifies Preparations For National Grassroots Sports Summit

Preparations for the 2026 National Grassroots Sports Development Summit have gathered pace following a meeting of the Main Organising Committee (MOC), chaired by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye.

The two-day summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19 at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, with the theme, “Creating a New Pathway for Sustainable Grassroots Sports Development.”

The summit, organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, is expected to bring together key stakeholders to examine the challenges confronting grassroots sports and develop practical approaches to talent identification and development.

At the MOC meeting, Adeboye said the summit must move beyond speeches and produce practical recommendations and partnerships capable of strengthening Nigeria’s sports development system.

“We are building a Summit that must produce action, not just conversation. Nigeria has enormous talent at the grassroots, but talent alone is not enough,” he said.

“We need a system that discovers these young people early, develops them properly and creates a sustainable pathway that can take them from their communities and schools to national and international excellence.”

The committee reviewed preparations covering stakeholder mobilisation, programme development, technical sessions, logistics, media and communications, private-sector participation and overall coordination for the event.

Adeboye said the summit was coming at a time of wider discussions on reforming Nigerian sports and stressed that sustainable development must begin at the grassroots.

“If Nigeria wants sustainable success at the highest level, we must get the foundation right. We cannot continue to depend on discovering exceptional athletes by chance,” he said.

“There must be a deliberate pathway from talent identification to development, competition and elite performance.”

The summit is expected to attract representatives from government, sports federations, state and local structures, schools, clubs and academies, as well as coaches, former athletes, corporate organisations and development partners.

Among the major sessions will be “Grassroots Sports Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Way Forward”, which will examine structural barriers to grassroots development and possible solutions.

Another session, “The Game Changer: How Sports Rescues Youth and Builds Nations,”will focus on the role of sport in youth empowerment, education, employment, social inclusion, community development and national unity.

Adeboye also called for greater private-sector participation, noting that government alone could not provide the facilities, competitions, training programmes and opportunities required to develop the country’s vast pool of young talent.

“This must be a national effort. Government has a responsibility, but the private sector, schools, communities, federations, clubs, coaches, parents and development partners all have roles to play,” he said.

The presidential aide charged the MOC to approach preparations with urgency and professionalism, insisting that the summit should produce outcomes capable of influencing the future direction of grassroots sports development.

“November 18 and 19 must represent more than two dates on the sporting calendar,” Adeboye said.

“We want to look back at this Summit and say that this was where stakeholders came together, confronted the challenges honestly and began building a new pathway for Nigerian sports.”

He added: “Nigeria does not have a shortage of talent. Our responsibility is to make sure talent has somewhere to go. That is the pathway we are determined to build.”