Rugby In, Then Out: Drama Rocks Gateway Games 2025
Less Than 24 Hours After Its Inclusion, Rugby Gets Dropped from the National Sports Festival Amid Controversy and Council Pushback
Fresh facts have emerged in the shocking saga that saw rugby knocked out of the forthcoming National Sports Festival in Abeokuta, less than 24 hours after its inclusion among the medal-awarding events at what is stylishly known as the Gateway Games 2025.
Sports247 reports that the euphoria and celebration that late Tuesday trailed the announcement of rugby among events to be competed for in The Rock City were cut short on Wednesday, following a heated debate among the council of states’ sports directors from across the federation.
The argument against rugby was that no qualifying competition had been staged for the grippers’ sport heading into the festival that is held later this month, and though director-general of the National Sports Commission (NSC), Engineer Bukola Olopade, tried to save the sport by offering Abuja as a quickfire host for the elimination series, the dissenting voices remained unabated.
