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The newly appointed Director General of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Bukola Olopade has said about 12,000 to 15,000 sportsmen and women are expected to participate in the 2024 Gateway Games.<\/p>\n

The Festival, which is the 22nd National Sports Festival, is scheduled to take place in Ogun State in early January 2025.<\/p>\n

Olopade disclosed this after a closed-door meeting with Ogun State Governor, Dapo Abiodun, and the Chief Executive Officer of Premium Trust Bank, Emmanuel Emefienim, in Abeokuta on Thursday.<\/p>\n

Olopade, who is the former Chairman of the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the Festival, said the Committee was working towards creating an Olympic-standard Games Village that would accommodate all the athletes in one location, a development which he said has not happened before in the history of the festival.<\/p>\n

He said: \u201cThe LOC has done a lot to ensure that we host the best festival in the country. My biggest joy as the chairman of the LOC is the governor\u2019s commitment to creating legacy projects around the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf you look at the MKO Abiola Stadium today, look at the Ijeja Sports Centre and some of the things done at Babcock and crossing over to Remo Stars Stadium, you will see some of the things we have done, like the new basketball courts for the games.<\/p>\n

\u201cMy biggest joy is that when you walk into the MKO Abiola Stadium, you will know that in the next 20 to 30 years, children of Ogun State, Nigeria, and the world will be happy to exhibit their God-given talents in the world-class facilities at the stadium.\u201d<\/p>\n

In order to ensure the players\u2019 health and safety, he disclosed the addition of a digitalized feeding and volunteer system and a catering system where food will undergo scientific testing.<\/p>\n

According to Olopade, approximately 200 journalists who have been accredited to cover the event will be housed and fed to ensure smooth information dissemination.<\/p>\n

He added that a transport cluster has been established to transport athletes to their various sporting venues in Babcock, Sagamu, Ikenne, and Abeokuta.<\/p>\n

Also speaking, Commissioner for Sports Development, Wasiu Isiaka said preparations are in top gear as the LOC is working round the clock to give Nigerians the best festival ever hosted by any state.<\/p>\n

He noted that, unlike the 15th edition hosted by the state in 2006, where swimming took place in a hotel, the 22nd edition would take place in state facilities.<\/p>\n

Sports Festival: 15,000 athletes to compete in 2024 Gateway Games \u2013 Olopade<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The newly appointed Director General of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Bukola Olopade has said about 12,000 to 15,000 sportsmen…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60057,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[26158,15,26159,160],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-60056","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-2024-gateway-games","category-news","category-olopade","category-sport"],"yoast_head":"\n