Delta State was officially declared the winner of the 21st National Sports Festival in Asaba last night.
The host state dominated in almost every sport and ended the ‘Nigerian Olympics’ with an astonishing medal haul of 320 gold, 200 silver and 128 bronze medals, the most by a single state in the history of the festival.
Delta’s neighbours, Bayelsa, finished second with an impressive total of 132 gold, 115 silver and 90 bronze medals.
Edo, which hosted the last edition of the festival in 2021, came third with 78 gold, 94 silver and 167 bronze medals to complete a South-South top three.
Team Oyo emerged fourth with 50 gold, 51 silver and 62 bronze medals, while Lagos bagged 41 gold, 57 silver and 74 bronze medals to come fifth.
Rivers State claimed the sixth position with 35 gold, 57 silver and 117 bronze medals, while Kano is the highest-placed northern state in seventh with 19 gold, 27 silver and 30 bronze medals.
Ogun, Federal Capital Territory and Akwa Ibom emerged eighth, ninth and 10th respectively.
All the states won medals at the 14-day event except for Zamfara.
There were no fewer than 14,000 athletes at the festival, and they competed in 38 sports.
Ogun State, which hosted the event in 2006, has been named as the host for the next National Sports Festival in 2024, with the capital Abeokuta the host city.
In an unprecedented move, Oyo State has been placed on standby if its neighbour fails to meet the hosting requirements.
