Aso Rock to host two-day grassroots sports summit in November, aide says

A two-day summit on grassroots sports will hold at the Aso Rock banquet hall in Abuja on November 18 and 19, according to the office of President Bola Tinubu's Senior Special Assistant on Grassroots Sports Development, Anthony Adeyinka Adeboye.

Adeboye said the president's decision to endorse the event shows he is not treating the sports sector lightly. He spoke on Tuesday, according to ThisDay and The Sun.

The summit is expected to bring together participants from within and outside Nigeria to draw a new road map for the country's sports.

What the summit is meant to do

Adeboye said the aim is to find the problems in Nigerian sports from the foundation and agree on solutions going forward.

"This is the first time Aso Rock will be waking up and talking sports for two days," he said.

He added that stakeholders would be brought under one roof to produce a road map that would change the face of Nigerian sports.

According to him, the Nigeria Economic Summit Group (NESG) has been engaged as technical partner for the summit. The NESG is a private-sector think tank that hosts Nigeria's annual economic summit.

Adeboye's office has stepped up preparations for the event in recent weeks.

Why it matters

Grassroots sport is where Nigerian talent is usually first spotted, from school football pitches to local athletics meets. A national plan for that level could affect how young athletes are found, trained and funded.

The sources did not say how much the summit will cost, who is paying, or whether its recommendations would be binding on government.

They also did not name the stakeholders invited or say whether the president will attend in person.

What happens next: The summit is scheduled for November 18 and 19 at the Aso Rock banquet hall. Nigerians will be watching to see whether it produces concrete steps, or only another document.