No fewer than 23 states have arrived in Ogun State for the National Sports Festival (NSF) tagged ‘Gateway Games’ 2024.

The biennial festival is to officially commence on Sunday.

The National Sports Commission’s (NSC) director general, Bukola Olopade, disclosed this in an interview with journalists on Saturday in Abeokuta.

“Twenty-three states are already in the camp; their feeding and welfare are top-notch and seamless,” he said. 

Olopade said there were visible signs that the state would host the best festival in the history of the country.

“I just spoke with leaders of four states who are already praising the state.

“Globally, if you have an event of this nature, the first thing is accommodation and feeding,” he said.

It was observed that finishing touches were ongoing at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Kuto, Abeokuta, the opening ceremony venue.

Also, different cultural troops were at the main bowl of the stadium rehearsing performances for the ceremony.

Some sports fans and analysts who spoke to journalists expressed confidence that the festival would surpass the successes recorded in the last edition in Delta State.

Abiodun Alabi, an Abeokuta-based sports journalist, said he believed that the sports festival would be better than the previous edition.

Alabi expressed hope that new talents would be discovered from the festival.

”The event will throw more talents that will go on to represent Nigeria at national and international events. It will also create expected economic opportunities for the people of the state.

“The game already left a legacy in terms of infrastructure; the MKO Abiola Stadium, with its new look and capacity, can now host major international events,” he said.

Michael Adesanya, a sports fan, expressed confidence that the festival would come out as a good event in terms of the quality of athletes and talent discovery.

(NAN)