Nigeria is set to host a high-powered national summit aimed at rebuilding its sports development system from the grassroots. The two-day National Grassroots Sports Development Summit 2026, scheduled for November 18 and 19 at the Banquet Hall, State House, Presidential Villa in Abuja, will bring together President Bola Tinubu, former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola, governors, economic experts, and leading sports administrators. The summit aims to produce a new roadmap for tackling persistent challenges undermining talent discovery, sports infrastructure, funding, coaching, and athlete development across the country.
The summit, organised by the Office of the Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, will feature a keynote address by Fashola and a special guest appearance by President Tinubu. The National Sports Commission, Nigerian Economic Summit Group, UNESCO, state governments, and local government authorities will participate in the summit. The event is designed to move grassroots sports beyond isolated successes to a coordinated national system capable of discovering and nurturing talents from schools and communities to the international stage.
The participation of key figures, including NSC Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko, NSC Director-General Hon. Bukola Olopade, the Chairman of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum, and the President of the Association of Local Governments of Nigeria, underscores the summit's ambition to connect grassroots sports development with economic planning, education, international cooperation, subnational governance, and private-sector investment. The summit's theme, “Creating a New Pathway for Sustainable Grassroots Sports Development,” reflects the need for a sustainable and coordinated approach to sports development.
Adeyinka Anthony Adeboye, Senior Special Assistant to the President on Grassroots Sports Development, noted that the central challenge confronting Nigerian sports is no longer whether the country possesses talented athletes, but whether it has the structures, resources, and sustained policies required to identify and develop them. He stressed that the participation of state governments, local councils, development institutions, and sports administrators would be crucial to developing sustainable solutions.
A properly coordinated grassroots development system could strengthen talent identification, improve access to facilities and qualified coaches, and create clearer pathways for promising athletes to progress from schools and local competitions to national teams and international championships. The summit's emphasis on economic planning also raises the prospect of examining sustainable funding models and stronger collaboration between government and the private sector.
The Chief Executive Officer of NESG, Tayo Aduloju, will feature prominently in the summit, with the economic policy organisation serving as a technical partner to help translate the summit's deliberations into a workable development roadmap. Other participants include the President of the African Table Tennis Federation, Barrister Enitan Oshodi, and the President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee.
The summit is expected to provide a defining platform for rebuilding the foundation of Nigerian sports, widening opportunities for young people, and establishing a more coherent framework for identifying, training, and supporting the country’s next generation of sporting champions. Proceedings will continue on Thursday, November 19, with further stakeholder engagements aimed at producing actionable recommendations for sustainable grassroots sports development.
Key points
- The summit aims to produce a new roadmap for tackling persistent challenges undermining talent discovery, sports infrastructure, funding, coaching, and athlete development across Nigeria.
- President Bola Tinubu and former Lagos State Governor Babatunde Raji Fashola will be in attendance, with Fashola delivering the keynote address.
- The summit seeks to connect grassroots sports development with economic planning, education, international cooperation, subnational governance, and private-sector investment.
