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The Centre of Excellence had a great outing in Delta this year, thanks to a change in approach by the Lagos State Sports Commission.
In 1973, Nigeria's then head of state, Yakubu Gowon, launched The National Sports Festival- a competition that would serve as a pathway for new talents to show their ability and potential on the big stage.
From there, they would be set on a path where they can go on to do big things for themselves on the big stage and, by extension, put Nigeria on the map.
The competition started well, producing some top talents that went on to make Nigeria proud. However, with time, the competitors(states) began to lose the real essence of the Festival.
Some States resulted in hiring mercenaries or enticing some of the best athletes from other states with deals that would turn their heads. Unfortunately, they have found a way to navigate past the rules of the competition.
However, one team has decided not to go with that trend, and that is Team Lagos. In the last two editions, Lagos has done something different from what others are doing, thanks to the genius of Sola Aiyepeku and Toyin Gafaar, who took over as the Executive Chairman and Director General of the Lagos State Sports commission a few years ago.
Since they both came in, they have employed a more robust approach to the National Sports Festival, focusing mainly on youths.
Lagos goes back to the youths- Aiyepeku
The chairman Aiyepeku revealed that the reason for this is to produce athletes that would be able to go on and become world beaters, an idea that conforms totally with the initial aim of the Festival.
"When we came on board, one of the first things we decided was that we would pursue talent development in truth and spirit by rebuilding key foundations," Sola Aiyepeku said.
"Nonetheless, as we all know, developing talent takes time. So the big question for us was, how do we focus on talent development while remaining competitive?
"This was the challenge the DG and I handed to the technical department and our coaches.
"The first step we took was to de-age Team Lagos, We had athletes who had been representing Lagos as far back as the early 90s, and we decided that it was not an efficient use of resources.
The LSSC chairman also added that while they recruited the best young talents, they were never forced to pay astronomical fees for the athletes.
"We also refused to pay over the odds to athletes who considered themselves medal guarantees, and naturally, we met stiff resistance but stood our ground," Aiyepeku continued.
"We brought the median age down to 22 from 34. We did this by promoting most of our contingent to the National Youth Games, many of whom were teenagers.
Aiyepku revealed the Sports Festival was the first time they tried out their approach, and it was successful, considering it was their first event.
"So, the 2022 Sports Festival in Delta was really a testing ground for our idea and vision, and the results were amazing.
"Our coaches and the technical department did a great job preparing the athletes, and they performed beyond even our expectations.
Even though we finished in 5th place, our huge number of silver and bronze medals demonstrated the real joy for us because Team Lagos was now filled with young athletes who could compete now but had a runway of at least ten years to develop into potential world-class athletes," Aiyepeku added.
Gafar says the approach is yielding results
Meanwhile, Toyin Gafaar, the Director General, revealed that the reason why their strategy has yielded results is because of their great vision and innovation.
"When the Chairman and I decided that we would not join the race to win medals just for the sake of winning medals, we had to encapsulate and share this vision clearly with our staff," he said.
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"That might sound easy, but I assure you it is not as easy as that. Most people in sports are used to seeing National Sports Festival as a platform for medals only.
"Convincing them that we can remain competitive even with a contingent filled with newbies and youngsters was not so easy.
However, I believe that when they saw we were serious and also saw that the young athletes were ready and only needed to be given belief, confidence, and platforms, they began to key into the vision, and we are grateful for the work they have done. I should commend all the coaches who work with us.
Working with young athletes requires a lot of sacrifice and commitment, and these coaches demonstrated remarkable commitment," Gafar concluded.
The new approach from team Lagos has brought forth results, and there has been a steady progression in the last two editions of the Sports Festival.
Team Lagos had the youngest contingent at the Edo 2020 Sports Festival, finishing with 32 gold medals and over 100 medals. The steady improvement was laid bare at the games in Delta last time out as Team Lagos finished with 41 gold medals and over 172 medals in total to finish 5th
In fact, at Delta 2022, Team Lagos won the prestigious 4×100metres relay thanks to Olaolu Olatunde, Idris Ojonugwa, Madonna Favour, and Ajayi Lawal, who had an average age of 18.
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Executive chairman Aiyepeku believes it is just the start of good things, and he is willing to continue with the great work that they have started.
"I am happy with the performance of our young contingent, but I am actually more excited by their future.
We had athletes as young as 12 in our contingent. Members of our men's 4 x 100 meters were discovered through Maltina School Games just a couple of years ago,'' he said.
"Already, our young athletes are winning multiple gold medals at the Commonwealth Games and are already appearing at the Olympics. Imagine what they will be doing in four years! That, for us, is what we consider success.
"We are building a culture of competitive performance that is driven by sustainability and long-term success. We don't want our athletes to have tens of NSF gold medals but no runway to professional or international success.
"With the continuous backing of Lagos State Government, the attraction of Corporate Nigeria, and establishment of regular competition in-between Festivals, we want them to perform at two, maybe three NSF and then move on to bigger stages, win scholarships, join the international professional circuit and ultimately, bring Glory to Lagos and Nigeria.
This, for us, is our picture of success, and we will continue to pursue it with the full knowledge that it is the right thing to do for these young athletes, their families, Lagos and Nigeria," he concluded.
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