The inaugural National Intermediate Games, EKO 2026, will aim to strengthen school sports and establish a lasting route for discovering and developing young athletes, rather than focusing solely on competition.
Quick facts
- Event: maiden National Intermediate Games, EKO 2026
- Host city: Lagos
- Dates: October 1–15, 2026
- Expected participation: about 15,000 athletes
- Representation: all 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory
Lagos will host the Games from October 1 to 15, 2026, with approximately 15,000 athletes expected from the 36 states and the Federal Capital Territory.
The Local Organising Committee is headed by Sam Egube, Deputy Chief of Staff to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu. Lekan Fatodu, Director General of the Lagos State Sports Commission, and Mobolaji Ogunlende, Commissioner for Youth and Social Development, are serving as co-chairmen.
The committee said EKO 2026 would be designed as more than a single sporting occasion. It is intended to provide a continuing structure for identifying, tracking and developing talent, while connecting school sport and grassroots participation with elite competition.
Egube described the project as an investment in people and in the wider sporting system. He said athletes would receive practical incentives, access to support and training after the Games, while newly built schools would include modern sports facilities to help talent grow through school programmes.
He said the event supports the Lagos State Government’s continuing spending on sports infrastructure, especially in schools and at grassroots level. The improved facilities are expected to give young athletes better settings in which to find and sharpen their abilities.
Egube also said Governor Sanwo-Olu had identified EKO 2026 as an opportunity for young athletes to display and improve their skills. The broader goal, he added, is to create a system that keeps promising athletes in Nigeria.
The LOC chairman said investment in sports facilities forms part of a wider Lagos strategy for advancing sports development across the state.
He said the Sanwo-Olu administration launched a major rehabilitation and upgrade programme for sports facilities roughly three years ago. Work has been carried out in Surulere, Ifako, Bariga, Ikorodu, Epe, Agege and Badagry.
Egube added that EKO 2026 would extend beyond the contests themselves by helping establish a durable grassroots sports structure capable of producing athletes for Nigeria’s elite teams.
With thousands of young competitors set to take part, the Games will serve as a significant talent-discovery and development platform. They will also give Lagos a chance to show how athletes at grassroots level can be guided towards becoming future national and international stars.
