Ntiense Williams Appeals To NSC To Include Rugby In Enugu 2026 Sports Festival
Former Technical Director of Rugby Federation of Nigeria, ‘Mr. Rugby’ Obong Ntiense Williams has made a passionate appeal to the leadership of the National Sports Commission for the return of Rugby at the National Sports Festival, starting with this year’s edition to be hosted by Enugu State.
In an open letter he sent to the Chairman of the NSC, Mallam Shehu Dikko through the Director General, Hon. Bukola Olopade, he lamented that the sport which is now an Olympic scoring event is not included in the National Sports Festival, appealing to him to use his good offices to correct the anomaly
He commended the NSC boss for his encouragement of Rugby towards its return to the last Festival notwithstanding the unfortunate last minute rejection at the Directors Meeting a day after he brought it back as an optional sports and also thanked him for encouraging their offshoot version called Flag Football as a Demonstration event at the Gateway Games just as he appealed that the issue of Rugby not being part of the Festival should be revisited.
Going memory lane, Williams reminded the NSC leadership that Rugby had an exhibition in 1998 Imo Festival and 3 subsequent Demonstrations which culminated to her first scoring at Gateway Games in 2006, noting that it was after the Kada Games in 2009, that new rules were created to align our local Olympics to the world; arguing that since Rugby is now an Olympic scoring event, it should be part of the Nigeria’s version of the Olympics as well enable Nigerians horn their skills in the game.
“The introduction of Rugby at the National Sports Festival of sustained, will help our athletes make podium finish at the Olympics and other international sporting events in the years to come, as it is a game-changer for the development of the sports in Nigeria,” Williams said.
Obong Williams noted that rugby is popular in Nigeria with 24 States Associations and efforts are being made to introduce the sport in the remaining states of the Federation, lamenting that due to the fact rugby is not in the NSF, many rugby players have been laid off in some of the states.
“A permanent inclusion in the National Sports Festival would provide a platform for states to invest in Rugby, thereby promoting its growth given the fact that Rugby is a scoring event at the All Africa Games, Commonwealth Games, Olympics Games with Two World Cups (First team sports with two World Cups every four years) and it features in many other world sports platforms.”
Mr Williams who was instrumental to the formation of the Nigeria Rugby Federation in 1998 submitted that Nigerians are well suited to play the game.
“Many prominent Nigerians are plying their trade in high profile professional Rugby outfits around the world. Presently a Nigerian is the Captain of the England national team, being the second. The first actually won the first Rugby 7’s Rugby World Cup in 1993 alongside four other Nigerians in the team,” Mr. Williams added.
”It is therefore for these main reasons and much more that we are passionately appealing to the NSC to once again allow rugby to return to the next edition of the National Sports Festival in Enugu on a permanent basis as an Olympic Sports like Volleyball, Basketball, Handball, Hockey, and Football respectively are presently listed.”
He maintained that it’s only when the sports becomes a scoring event at the Enugu National Sports Festival that any state will be interested to get involved in it, and that in turn will help them propagate it’s gospel adequately around the country.
