The Director General of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Hon. Bukola Olopade, has reaffirmed the Commission’s unwavering support for the rapid growth and expansion of Scrabble in Nigeria.
He made the declaration on Friday when he officially received the victorious Team Nigeria Scrabble contingent, who recently reclaimed global supremacy by emerging World Champions at the Scrabble World Championships held in Ghana.
Nigeria dethroned the United States to return to the top of world rankings, further strengthening its reputation as the undisputed powerhouse of global Scrabble.
Olopade, visibly delighted, praised the athletes for bringing honour and pride to the country through a sport often regarded as “small” but consistently delivering big results.
“For myself, Mallam Shehu Dikko, and our cerebral team at the Commission, whenever a sport that some people consider small brings joy to the table, we are extremely proud,” he said. “We made it clear from the beginning that the era of focusing only on football is gone.
“I personally followed your competition in Ghana, and when you emerged world champion, I celebrated with my team. I have always been a big fan of Scrabble from my days as Commissioner of Sports in Ogun State.”
The DG further conveyed the appreciation of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, noting that the President’s mandate from Day One has been to ensure equal attention to all sports while strengthening the economic value of the sports industry.
“The President’s directive is clear: every sport matters, and the economics of sports must benefit every stakeholder because sports is serious business,” he added.
Olopade also charged the newly inaugurated Board of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation to intensify domestic competitions that will create income opportunities for athletes, coaches, and officials.
Responding, the President of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation, Idahosa Bright, emphasized the country’s long-standing excellence in the sport.
“It has become a niche in the Scrabble family for Nigeria to always be champion. Out of fifteen editions of the African Championships, we have won fourteen,” he noted.
He expressed confidence that Nigeria will remain the unrivalled global No. 1, crediting the unprecedented support from the NSC leadership for energizing their grassroots and elite programs ahead of next year.
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