Tinubu Aide’s Grassroots Sports Summit To Address Talent, Infrastructure Gaps

Plans for the 2026 National Grassroots Sports Development Summit have advanced, with organisers focusing on creating a sustainable pathway for young athletes from schools and communities to elite competition.

The two-day summit, scheduled for November 18 and 19 at the Banquet Hall, Presidential Villa, Abuja, will bring together government officials, sports administrators, federations, schools, clubs, coaches, former athletes, corporate organisations and development partners.

The theme of the summit is “Creating a New Pathway for Sustainable Grassroots Sports Development.”
The Main Organising Committee (MOC), chaired by the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, reviewed preparations for the event at its latest meeting.

The committee considered stakeholder mobilisation, technical sessions, logistics, media and communications, private-sector participation and the overall coordination of the summit.

Adeboye said the gathering must produce practical solutions rather than become another forum for discussions without implementation.

“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.

According to him, the country needs a structured system capable of identifying young talents early, developing them and providing opportunities for progression from schools and communities to national and international competition.

“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,” Adeboye said.

One of the major sessions will focus on “Grassroots Sports Development in Nigeria: Challenges and Way Forward”, examining structural challenges and possible solutions to improving talent identification and development.

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

Adeboye also called for stronger private-sector involvement in grassroots sports, stressing that government alone could not provide the facilities, competitions, training programmes and other opportunities needed to develop Nigeria’s young talents.

“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.

He charged the MOC to maintain a high level of urgency and professionalism in its preparations, insisting that the summit should produce recommendations capable of shaping the future 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.”