By Dorcas Francis Koji
The maiden National Intermediate Games, tagged EKO 2026, will go beyond sporting competition by strengthening school sports, promoting grassroots participation and creating a sustainable pathway for discovering and nurturing Nigeria’s next generation of athletes, the Local Organising Committee (LOC) has said.
The Games are scheduled to take place in Lagos from October 1 to 15, 2026, with about 15,000 athletes expected to participate from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory.
The LOC, chaired by the Deputy Chief of Staff to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, Sam Egube, with the Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, Lekan Fatodu, and the Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, Mobolaji Ogunlende, serving as co-chairmen, said EKO 2026 would not be treated as a one-off sporting event.
Instead, the initiative is designed to establish a long-term system for talent identification, monitoring and development, while creating a stronger connection between school sports, grassroots competitions and elite-level athletics.
Egube said the Games represented a broader commitment to human development and the strengthening of Nigeria’s sporting ecosystem.
“This is a commitment to human development and to encouraging our sporting system,” Egube said.
He explained that participating athletes would continue to benefit beyond the competition through incentives, support opportunities and training programmes.
According to him, the Lagos State Government is also integrating modern sporting facilities into newly developed schools to ensure that young talents can be identified and nurtured within the school system.
The initiative is expected to complement the state government’s investment in sporting infrastructure, particularly at the school and grassroots levels, by providing young athletes with better facilities and opportunities to develop their abilities.
Egube added that Governor Sanwo-Olu had emphasised the importance of giving young athletes opportunities to showcase and improve their talents while establishing a system capable of retaining promising sportsmen and women within Nigeria.
He said Lagos’ investment in sports facilities was part of a wider strategy aimed at strengthening sports development across the state.
According to the LOC chairman, the Sanwo-Olu administration began a comprehensive upgrade of sports facilities about three years ago, with projects spread across Surulere, Ifako, Bariga, Ikorodu, Epe, Agege and Badagry.
He noted that EKO 2026 would therefore transcend medals and competition, serving as a foundation for a sustainable grassroots sports system capable of producing athletes for Nigeria’s national teams and other elite sporting programmes.
With thousands of young athletes expected to converge on Lagos, EKO 2026 is set to provide a major platform for talent discovery and development, while showcasing how sustained investment in school and grassroots sports can help produce future Nigerian stars on the national and international stage.
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