NSF management body inaugurates Festival Advisory Committee

National Sports Festival (NSF) Marketing and Management Company on Friday in Abuja inaugurated an eight-member National Sports Festival (NSF) Strategy Advisory Committee.

Inaugurating the committee, Ugo Umeseaka, the Managing Director of NSF Marketing and Management Company, said the committee was created to add technical knowledge to the planning of the festival.

“The committee will provide leadership and research in the strategic planning process of the upcoming festivals in order to deliver high-level advisory direction,” he said.

Umeseaka listed the committee’s mandate to include design of sponsorship structure, Implementation Strategy and Schedule for Edo 2020 and using the template for sponsorship of other Sports Festivals.

He said the committee would also design high-level strategy and implementation schedule for nationwide pre-festival events, including the Unity Torch Tour.

Other mandates include designing the review criteria and providing quarterly reports of host facilities and preparedness of host cities for Sports Festivals based on the reviewed criteria.

“It will also design the operational and sponsorship strategy for National Sports Camps as Training and Boot Camps for athletes nationwide.

“Also, it will design a two-year media strategy that will ensure value for prospective sponsors and all stakeholders of Sports Festivals.

“It will develop the framework for a NSF Trust Fund for the sustainable funding of NSF and support of overall sports development in the country,’’ Umeseaka said.

He added that appointment into the committee was renewable after an initial period of two years.

“The members’ appointment was in recognition of their expertise and vast experience in sports administration and management,’’ Umeseaka said.

Membership of the advisory committee include Ademola Are, the Director of Grassroots Sports Development in the Federal Ministry of Youths and Sports Development, and Oluwaseun Omotayo, a sports administrator.

Others are Tunde Kazeem, the Chairman of Directors of Sports Forum, and Gbenga Odusanya, the Executive Vice-Chairman, COODS Resources International.

The committee also has Kayode Adeniyi, a former chairman, FCT Chapter of Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN), among others.