Sports ministry: Festival not postponed indefinitely, new dates soon

THE sports ministry, headed by Sunday Dare, has denied reports that the 2020 National Sports Festival has again been postponed indefinitely.

The festival had initially been scheduled to be held in Benin, the Edo State capital, in March but had to be postponed due to the outbreak of coronavirus.

However, the ministry insists that new dates will soon be announced for the event following the lifting of the ban on contact sports by the federal government.

The ministry’s media office on Friday denounced recent reports of another indefinite postponement as ‘false and unfounded’.

“Like we did by consulting  with  the  Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 when we lifted the ban on non-contact sports and later contact sports, discussions are ongoing to decide on a new date for the Festival,” the sports ministry said in a statement signed by Dare’s senior media aide John Joshua Akanji.

“The fake news that the Festival has been postponed indefinitely must have emanated from a false source.

“We are considering a staggered Festival spanning several weeks and atheletes in  batches, no fans and strict adherence  to the COVID-19 protocol. While we are committed to holding the Festival, we do not want to endanger  the lives of atheletes and officials. Rest assured that a decision  would be taken in line with Government’s  guidelines in the best interest of  the common good of our sports  and the athletes.”