Sports
Sports Minister Identifies Key Areas For Dev
The Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Mr Sunday Dare, has said that the upgrade and renewal of sports infrastructure around the country remains a top priority for the Ministry.
He said this while fielding questions from journalists on preparations of athletes for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
The Minister added that the welfare of athletes will not take the back seat under his leadership.
“Starting from their welfare, starting from the needed funds, making sure that we line them up to be at the different championships and trials they must attend, we are working with Federations to build up a calendar to also try and get the necessary funding in time to support our Federations but also to support our athletes directly and that’s why we came up with the Adopt an Athlete initiative,” he said.
On the efforts to improve Stadia across the country and how it would contribute to turning the fortunes of sports in Nigeria, he said, “We will not have overnight changes between the coming batches and I dare say perhaps, those going to the Tokyo Olympics 2020 might not benefit directly from our efforts in the reparations of infrastructural renewal. It will take time but we have begun in earnest since last year. “Infrastructural rationalisation is critical to sports development but not just the brick and mortar structures we have in the mainbowl but also, do we have requisite equipments. Modern digital sporting equipments that our athletes can use to improve their skills. So we have a plan and it is also embedded within the Adoption Campaign Initiative.
“Beyond that, we are also making a case to carry out an audit of all our sporting infrastructures and also see which ones are critical that we can marshal funds to fix and optimize their advantage for our athletes”.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
