By Prevail Inegbenose
The Federal Capital Territory is set to participate in the maiden National Intermediate Games, EKO 2026, as more than 14,000 young athletes from across the country prepare to converge on Lagos for the October 1–15 competition.
The participation of Team FCT follows the approval of the FCT Administration, which has continued to support the territory’s involvement in major sporting competitions across the country.
EKO 2026 is expected to provide a major platform for the FCT and other participating states to expose young athletes to high-level competition while identifying talents capable of progressing to national and international teams.
The National Sports Commission (NSC) described the Games as an important link between grassroots sports and elite competition, with athletes discovered at the event expected to form part of Nigeria’s future development pathway.
For the FCT, the Games offer an opportunity to build on Team FCT’s eighth-place finish at the last National Sports Festival and further strengthen its pool of emerging sporting talents.
The NSC said athletes identified during EKO 2026 would be combined with selected Diaspora athletes to form the core of Nigeria’s Invited Junior Athletes team for the next National Sports Festival in Enugu.
Only athletes born between January 1, 2008, and September 30, 2011, will be eligible to compete. The commission said NIMC verification, approved identification documents and physical screening would be used to establish athletes’ ages and identities.
The scale of the Games has also prompted extensive preparations in Lagos, with 16 hostels comprising 38 buildings and about 12,800 beds earmarked for accommodation.
The NSC said feeding, transportation and medical arrangements were also being put in place to cater for the large contingents expected from the FCT and the 36 states.
With Team FCT already making steady progress on the national sporting scene, its participation in EKO 2026 is expected to provide another opportunity to discover, nurture and prepare the territory’s next generation of athletes for higher levels of competition.
