Action will begin this Saturday in the zonal qualifiers for football, volleyball, basketball and other team events ahead of this year’s Natiobal Sports Festival in Enugu.
Sports247 gathered that with the Festival tagged Coal City 2026 drawing closer with each passing day, zonal coordinators have been charged to ensure all elimination competitions conclude ahead of time.
With that in mind, the National Sports Commission (NSC) has directed that all elimination competitions for team events must take place across Nigeria’s six geo-political zones from tgis Saturday up Tuesday, September 15th.
A press statement from the NSC added, “The eliminations will serve as a major qualification pathway for teams seeking to compete at the National Sports Festival, which will be hosted by Enugu State.
“The four-day exercise will feature basketball, cricket, football, volleyball and beach volleyball, with competitions (taking place) in both male and female categories.
“Under the Festival’s qualification rules, the top two teams from each geopolitical zone in the designated team sports will earn tickets to the national competition. Host state, Enugu, will enjoy automatic qualification.
“The Main Organising Committee (MOC) has directed zonal coordinators to intensify preparations for the eliminations and submit proposed venues for the various competitions.”
Sports247 reports further that the 23rd National Sports Festival, Coal City 2016, is scheduled to begin in Enugu on November 27th under the theme ‘Excellence, Sportsmanship And Unity.’
Observers also noted that hockey and handball are two major team events that this year’s festival will not have, as they were both not included in the NSC’s roster of disciplines approved for Coal City 2026.
