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By Okorie Uguru
Preparations have reached advanced stage for the hosting of the first ever National Sports Tourism Conference and Exhibition, a combined tourism and sports industry event put together by the Ringo Sport Club – Nigeria (RSCN), endorsed by the Federal Ministry of Arts, Culture, Tourism and Creative Economy in collaboration with the Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria, Abuja FCT Chapter and Ministries of Youth Development, Transportation, Aviation, Information and National Orientation, Communication, Interior, the National Sports Commission, and the FCT, among others.
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The event, which is scheduled for 30th and 31st of March, 2026 at the Nicon Luxury Hotel, Abuja, has the theme, ‘Leveraging on the Inter-Section of Multi Sectoral MDAs to Promote Sports Tourism in Nigeria’, will focus on the connectivity between tourism and sports as well as the inter-links with other MDAs so as to explore the inherent socio-economic potentials existing in the interface of sports and tourism for the benefits of the national economy.
According to Malam Ahmed Mohammed Sule, President of the Ringo Sports Club – Nigeria, Convener and Chairman of the National Organizing Committee of NASTOCE 2026, the objectives of the conference are to among others, facilitate a platform for knowledge sharing and networking among stakeholders in the sports and tourism industries, highlight the potential benefits and impact of sports on tourism development, provide a healthy dialogue forum for collaboration between the public and private sectors and foster partnerships and investment opportunities in the sports and tourism industries and to showcase sports tourism products and services through exhibitions, including sports facilities and tourism destinations.
Malam Ahmed said the choice of the theme for the Conference was informed by the strong need and desire to deepen the knowledge of the inter-sections existing between sports and tourism by MDAs and to explore the inherent socio-economic benefits for the good of the country, stressing that the intersection of sports and travel, is globally an emerging sector that can significantly contribute to Nigeria’s socio-economic development, given Nigeria’s rich cultural heritage and breath taking diverse landscapes.
As a dialogue forum, a number of interesting, critical and thought provoking sub themes to deepen collaborative partnerships between and amongst MDAs in the expected sports and tourism synergy have been lined up with experts, professional speakers and Chief Executive Officers of the respective MDAs billed to make presentations on their collaborative roles to achieve the desired synergy for the sports tourism industry to flourish in Nigeria.
