8th Kwara Sports Festival: Mogaji Urges LGAs to Showcase Homegrown Talents

8th Kwara Sports Festival: Mogaji Urges LGAs to Showcase Homegrown Talents


The Executive Chairman of the Kwara State Sports Commission, Coach Bolakale Adisa Mogaji, has urged local government councils across the state to focus on discovering and nurturing homegrown talents rather than recruiting athletes from outside their jurisdictions ahead of the 8th Kwara State Sports Festival.

Mogaji made the appeal during a strategic meeting between the festival's Organising Committee and the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria (ALGON), Kwara State chapter, where he emphasized that the primary objective of the festival is grassroots talent discovery, youth development and unity among Kwarans. 

He noted that fielding indigenous athletes would ensure the competition achieves its purpose of identifying the next generation of sporting stars from across the 16 local government areas.

The meeting, attended by chairmen of the 16 local government councils, was convened to strengthen collaboration and ensure a successful hosting of the festival scheduled for August 21 to 29, 2026.

Addressing the council chairmen, Mogaji stressed that the essence of the state sports festival is to discover, nurture and develop grassroots talents across the state. He urged the councils to work closely with their sports officers in identifying genuine athletes from their communities rather than engaging in the practice of recruiting competitors from other local governments.

According to him, athlete poaching undermines the core objectives of the festival, which are talent discovery, youth development, empowerment and the promotion of unity among Kwarans.

"The festival is designed to provide opportunities for young talents at the grassroots level. Local governments must focus on showcasing athletes from their communities and not imported competitors whose participation defeats the purpose of the competition," he said.

Mogaji also commended Governor AbdulRahman AbdulRazaq for providing the necessary support for the successful hosting of the festival. He noted that the state government had approved key welfare arrangements, including security, accommodation and feeding for participants.

The Sports Commission chairman further outlined the rules and expectations for participating councils and called for strict adherence to the regulations guiding the festival.

Responding on behalf of the local government chairmen, the Chairman of ALGON in Kwara State and Chairman of Kaiama Local Government Council, Mallam Abdullahi Abubakar Danladi, appreciated the Sports Commission for the engagement and assured the committee of the councils' full cooperation.

Danladi pledged that the local governments would support efforts aimed at identifying and mobilising genuine grassroots athletes for the competition.

The meeting reaffirmed the commitment of both the Kwara State Sports Commission and the 16 local government councils to ensuring that the 2026 Kwara State Sports Festival serves as a platform for talent discovery, youth empowerment and unity across the state.

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