Monday January 19, 2026
www.thenewsdesk.ng
Akwa Ibom would be focusing more on athletes’ discovery and future grooming at the second Niger Delta Games coming up in Benin, Edo State, from February 20 to 27, the state’s Commissioner of Sports, Elder Paul Bassey, has said.
Bassey revealed this policy thrust on Saturday while speaking on preparations for the regional games sponsored by the Niger Delta Games. He also disclosed that 476 athletes and 64 coaches have been registered by the state for the competition that will have contingents from eight other states.
Registration of participants closed on Friday, and the states are now to conduct trials to select the final list of athletes that will be travelling to Benin for the Games.
Earlier, Akwa Ibom State Director of Coaching, Mrs Catherine Ewa, had announced that profiles of 250 male and 226 female athletes were successfully uploaded on the Niger Delta Games central registration portals alongside 44 men and 20 women coaches.
While expressing optimism on the prospects of the state’s performance in the games, Bassey insisted that the state will be prioritising finding athletes for the future.
“We have complied with the regulations bordering on eligibility of athletes by registering teenagers and youngsters, and for us, while it is important to win as many gold medals as possible at the games, we are also going to be placing a lot of emphasis on unearthing new talents to enrich our pool of sports stars for future endeavours”, he said. Akwa Ibom hosted the maiden edition of the games in April 2025.