Oyo to parade 320 athletes, Delta with largest contingent of 727
Shooting, the event, which was earlier dropped from the 22nd National Sports Festival holding in Ogun State, has made a return to the Games.
 
The event was dropped alongside rugby from the Gateway 2025 Games during the National Council of Sports meeting in Abeokuta a few weeks ago.
 
However, a letter tagged, ‘Re-Stepping down of Shooting sports from the 22nd National Sports Festival,’ signed by Mrs. Thecla Opara for the Director-General/Chairman MOC 22nd NSF, made available to The Guardian, yesterday, stated that an ‘Electronic System Target’ will be used instead of ‘Live weapons’ for the shooting events.
 
Meanwhile, Oyo State is preparing a contingent of 421 for the 22nd National Sports Festival, including 320 athletes, 65 coaches and 36 officials.
 
Oyo State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Wasilat Adegoke, said while addressing the athletes, coaches, and sports officers at the Lekan Salami Sports Complex, Adamasingba, Ibadan, that the state will feature in 32 sports consisting of 27 compulsory and five optional sports.

“The state government under the leadership of Governor ‘Seyi Makinde, has graciously approved the minimum wage of N80,000 for the athletes, coaches, and sports officers on contract appointments in the state,” Adegoke said. “This act of magnanimity on the part of Governor Makinde will not only boost the morale of the athletes but will also serve as an impetus for them in the forthcoming national festival and subsequent tournaments.”
 
The Commissioner also pledged on behalf of the Oyo State government that instant rewards would be offered to athletes who secure gold, silver, and bronze medals, during the competitions, stressing that adequate provisions would be provided to make their participation in the competition convenient and memorable.
 
While Oyo State is sending 342 athletes to Ogun, defending champions, Team Delta, is preparing a contingent of 727 athletes and 149 officials for the Games.
 
The Guardian learnt that Team Delta has the largest contingent for the 22nd National Sports Festival. Team Delta will compete in a total of 36 sporting events, including abula (women and mixed), athletics, ayo, badminton, basketball (men and women), boxing, chess, cricket, cycling, dambe, darts, deaf athletics, and deaf badminton.
 
Others are deaf table tennis, football (men and women), golf, gymnastics, handball (men and women), hockey (men and women), judo, karate, kickboxing, para-athletics, para-powerlifting, para-table tennis and scrabble.
 
The defending champions will also contest for medals in squash, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, tennis, volleyball (men), weightlifting, wheelchair basketball, wrestling, and wushu-kungfu.
 
Ogun State government has promised that the 22nd National Sports Festival, which will run from May 16-30, will be the ‘best-ever’ in the history of the Games.