23rd National Sports Festival: SWAN condemns exclusion from Local Organizing Committee

The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), South East Zone has today expressed serious concern over the exclusion of members from the committee inaugurated as the Local Organizing Committee (LOC) of the 23rd National Sports Festival (NSF) held in Enugu state.

The Vice President, SWAN South East Zone, Ikemefuna Asika in a statement co-signed by the Zonal Secretary, Kennedy Onwunali, described the action as unfortunate and unacceptable, stating that as critical stakeholder in the promotion of sports, the exclusion undermine its role in the sports development.

According to the statement,"This exclusion is not only unfortunate but wholly unacceptable. As a critical stakeholder in the promotion, organization, and development of sports in Nigeria, SWAN plays an essential role in ensuring effective media coverage, public engagement, and strategic communication—key components in the successful execution of any major sporting event. "The failure to include SWAN members in the LOC undermines these contributions and disregards the association's consistent support for sports development across the nation. They, however, called on National Sports Commission and the Enugu state government to as a Matter of urgency retract its step,"We therefore call on the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Enugu State Government to, as a matter of urgency, review the committee's composition and include representatives of SWAN to ensure a balanced and inclusive approach to organizing the 23rd NSF.".