2018 NSF: Federation insists on upgrading scrabble into mandatory sport

The Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) on Tuesday in Abuja insisted that scrabble should not be listed as an optional sport at the 2018 National Sports Festival (NSF).

Suleiman Gora, President of the federation, said that listing the sports as optional was not in the best interest of the game.

Some sports federations have been protesting their non-inclusion in the festival scheduled for Abuja in December due to their classification as optional sports in the 2018 NSF.

Scrabble is one of the sports classified as an optional sport, meaning competition in the sport at the festival was based on its choice by participating states.

Gora said Nigeria’s performance the sport internationally means it is not supposed to be listed as optional at the festival but as a mandatory sport.

“It is lamentable that the game has been omitted from the 2018 NSF. But I can assure that the federation will continue to agitate for its re-introduction.’’

He said Nigeria’s performance as the best scrabble playing nation in the world in recent times was enough to list the sport as a major sport at the festival.

“We do not just want scrabble to appear for just a mere appearance sake. It is for the sustainability of the past records of overwhelming achievements this federation has attained in the past years.

“The federation’s achievements in the past years include the African Championship trophy which was won by Dennis Ikekeregor in 2004 and 2006, Wellington Jighere in 2008 and 2010, as well as Solomon Etim in 2014, amongst others.

“Scrabble is one game that has earned Nigeria many trophies. Nigeria has won the African title 11 times, as well as two Country World Cup trophies in 2015 and 2017, which has made us the best scrabble-playing nation in the world,’’ the federation president said.

Gora said further that Nigeria was the current world number two on the individual category after winning the individual trophy (World Scrabble Champion) in 2015 by Jighere.

NAN reports that Youth and Sports Development Minister Solomon Dalung has said performance is a major factor in classifying sports at the NSF.

The minister has however also conceded that the sports’ categorisation is the prerogative of the National Sports Council (NSC).