The University of Lagos (UNILAG), the hosts of the 26th edition of the Nigerian Universities Games Association (NUGA), has pledged to conduct the best games ever staged in the history of the game.
The varsity secured the hosting rights in a close struggle with University of Jos in 2018, and the games, which were originally scheduled for last year but were postponed owing to the global pandemic, will now take place from March 16 to 26, 2022.
With 136 universities slated to compete in the games, with 10,000 student athletes and officials competing in 17 sports, UNILAG Vice Chancellor Prof. Oluwatoyin Ogundipe said the university is ready to put on the best NU Games ever.
Speaking at the press briefing held at the school senate building, Prof. Ogundipe said: “I want to reiterate that the UNILAG is set to stage the best NUGA games ever, and we will use it to sell Nigeria products to the outside world.
“It is noteworthy that sports have always been a centripetal force, uniting our nation, Nigeria even when other forces including ethnic, linguistic and religious differences, political persuasion and other socio-cultural barriers strain its unity.”
“We intend to take some of the games outside the University to create an awareness within the society about the unity value of sports, with the belief that this will provide the athletes an opportunity to experience the dynamic culture that characterizes the Lagos mega-polis, which is one of Africa’s largest economic hubs.
“UNILAG-NUGA games will be viewable from all over the world as we intend to deploy all TV outlets, optimized by the internet to enable people from anywhere in the world to follow the games which will enable us to showcase to the world the talents of Nigerian athletes and enable the various sports managers in Nigeria to identify talents for future national international competitions.
We have partnered with various bodies to ensure that only bonafide students of Nigerian universities participate in the games through rigorous and transparent accreditation processes and unbiased officiating during the games.
”This is not the first time we are hosting the event. We have in the past hosted the games three times in 1968, 1978 and 1998, and now 23 years after, UNILAG is set to host again.
To this end, our sporting facilities are currently undergoing massive renovation and reconstruction to meet international standards and to enable individual athletes to have one of their best experiences during the UNILAG-NUGA games.”
Football, volleyball, basketball, handball, lawn tennis, table tennis, badminton, hockey, cricket, chess, taekwondo, judo, swimming, karate, athletics, squash, and boxing are among the 17 sports that will be fought for during the games.
