Introduction
The Niger Delta Games, also known as the Niger Delta Sports Festival (NDSF) is a program of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) designed by Dunamis Icon Limited, retained as the Project Consultant, and adopted by the NDDC, the NDSF is a Multi-Sports competition for states under the mandate of the NDDC.
The NDSF is aimed at the promotion of sporting culture, sports education, talent discovery and nurturing of athletes, and the promotion of the culture, unity, friendship, greater interaction and peaceful co-existence of communities of the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, as part of the human capital development and social cohesion initiatives of the NDDC.
Objectives
1. To support the realisation of the development agenda of the Federal Government, the sports sector development vision of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria and the overall mandate of the NDDC.
2. To continuously oil the mill of talent discovery, grooming and building of national and international athletes from the Niger Delta region for the service of the NDDC states in national competitions and the nation in international competitions
3. To expand access to sports and sporting facilities across the region
Impact
1. Increased and sustainable production of elite and career sports men and women in the Niger Delta
2. Sustained nurturing of sports champions for the states of the Niger Delta and Nigeria
3. Development and expansion of the sports economy through support and encouragement of youths to embrace careers in sports
4. Empowerment and economic independence of the youths through sports.
5. Mitigation of youth restiveness and militancy through sports
6. Rebranding the image and perception of the Niger Delta
7. Boosting the image of the NDDC as accountable for the production of sports champions in the Niger Delta and the nation
8. Promoting greater interaction and exchange for greater unity, friendship and camaraderie across the Niger Delta
Rule 1: Organisation
1.1 There shall be a 15 member Main Organising Committee (MOC) composed of 5 representatives of the NDDC, 5 representatives of the Project Consultant, 2 representative of the host state, and 2 representative of all State Sports Ministries, and 1 representative of the National Sports Commission (NSC) who shall be in an Observer status
1.2 The MOC is the full and final authority of the policy and technical direction, management and administration of the Festival
1.3 There shall be Directorates or Local Organising Sub-Committees (LOC) on various aspects of the Festival – Technical, Medical, Security, Protocol/Ceremonial, Media/Publicity, Accommodation, Transportation, Facilities/Equipment, Mobilisation, Volunteers, and other segments as shall be determined by the MOC.
1.4 The number of memberships of the LOC Sub-Committees shall be determined by the MOC
1.5 The selection of the Head and members of the Directorates or LOC Sub-Committees shall be determined by the MOC in conjunction with the sports establishment, ministry or commission of the Host State
1.6 The Directorates or LOC Sub-Committees shall take instructions and directives from the MOC for implementation and shall provide reports to the MOC as may be demanded.
1.7 There shall be State Liaison Committees to take charge of the trials and selection process of athletes from the Local Government Areas through the state level to form the state contingents
1.8 The State Liaison Committees shall be composed of 3 representatives of the participating state, 5 representatives of the Project Consultant and 1 representatives of the NDDC
1.9 The State Liaison Committees shall act on the strict instructions of the guidelines for state trials and selection as provided by the MOC
1.10 The MOC reserves the right to reject, withdraw, suspend, expel or bar any member of the Directorates, LOC Sub-Committees or State Liaison Committees set up under this section
Rule 2: Featured Sports
2.1 The following sports are to be featured in the first edition of the NDSF:
- Athletics
- Basketball
- Boxing
- Canoeing
- Chess
- Football
- Handball
- Para-Athletics
- Para-Powerlifting
- Scrabble
- Swimming
- Table Tennis
- Tennis
- Volleyball
- Weightlifting
- Wrestling
2.2 The MOC reserves the right of review to reduce and/or include any sport for each edition of the NDSF as it may deem relevant
2.3 For a sport to score in the NDSF, a minimum of 4 (Four) states must enter and participate.
2.4 For an event to score, a minimum of 4 (Four) states must enter and participate.
2.5 The entries per sport and list of events shall be decided by the MOC for each edition of the NDSF and shall be communicated to all stakeholders
Rule 3: Hosting Right
3.1 The NDSF shall be hosted in any but only states under the mandate of the NDDC
3.2 The MOC shall determine the host state and city of each edition of the NDSF based on satisfaction with stated criteria
3.3 The criteria are:
A) Availability of sports facilities and equipment for featured sports
B) Availability and Adequacy of hostel and hotel facilities for the accommodation of athletes, coaches, technical officials and Games Services Personnel
C) The disposition, enthusiasm and readiness of the host state to host the event
D) Positive assessment of the level of security in the host state
3.4 The Host State shall provide and avail the MOC of all required sports facilities, venues and equipment for the NDSF
Rule 4: Venues/Facilities
4.1 The Host State shall provide the venues and facilities for the NDSF
4.2 The MOC shall support the Host State to ensure that venues, facilities and equipment are up to acceptable competition standards of the national sports federations
4.3 The MOC shall guarantee state athletes’ access to such facilities for the purposes of familiarization and training at least 2 days to the competition in each sport
Rule 5: Technical Arrangements for Competitions
5.1 The Local Organising Technical Sub-Committee shall be responsible for the technical control of the NDSF, especially to ensure that all equipment, competitions and training venues comply with standard rules and regulations of sports federations
5.2 The Technical Sub-Committee of the LOC shall liaise and work with the leadership and Secretariat of National Federations of each sport to ensure that the conduct of each sport at the NDSF is in accordance with its international federation’s rules and regulations
5.3 The Technical Sub-Committee shall prepare the schedule of each sport and forward same to the MOC before the commencement of the Festival for compilation and harmonization
5.4 Technical officials for each sport shall be appointed by the MOC on the recommendation of the Technical sub-committee
5.5 The Technical Sub-Committee shall ensure that Judges, Referees, Umpires and other scoring competition officials shall not officiate in events involving their states of origin/residence
Rule 6: Duration of Festival
The NDSF shall be held within 7 days, from the stated Arrival Date of State Contingents through to the day of the Closing ceremony
Rule 7: Opening/Closing Ceremonies
The Opening and Closing ceremonies shall be organized by the MOC in liaison with the Host State Government/Sports establishment
Rule 8: Composition of State Contingents
8.1 Competitors for each state shall comprise the stated number of Athletes and Coaches per sport according to the distribution of entries per event as determined by the MOC
8.2 Each State Contingent shall include 5 (five) Medical Personnel and 10 (ten) accompanying staff
Rule 9: Accommodation
9.1 The MOC shall provide accommodation for all State Contingents in designated hostels with adequate beddings
9.2 The hostels shall be open and made available to State Contingents immediately on arrival at the host state
Rule 10: Prizes
10.1 The victory prizes of the NDSF shall be provided by the MOC
10.2 The prizes shall include the following:
A) Trophies and Cash Prizes for Overall Winner, 1st and 2nd Runners Up
B) Medals, Certificates and cash prizes for 1st, 2nd and 3rd placed athletes and teams in all the events
10.3 All athletes and coaches and officials at the Festival shall be presented with Certificate of Participation
10.4 The MOC shall provide for Legacy Projects in terms of the construction of a Sports Facility or Donation of Sports Equipment to both the Overall Winning State as a legacy reward for performance, and the Host State as legacy reward for service, the nature and volume of which shall be by the advice of the Project Consultant
Rule 11: Eligibility
11.I The NDSF shall register only indigenes of states under the mandate of the NDDC
11.2. Verification shall be determined on presentation of any 2 (two) of the following:
A) National Identification Number (NIN)
B) International Passport
C) Birth Certificate
D) Certificate of Local Government of Origin
11.3 An athlete must not be above 25 years of age as at the opening day of the competition
11.4. A competitor must have been resident in the state he/she is representing for at least two years
11.5 An athlete can only register for one sport and not more than two events
11.6 Dual registration for states, sports or outside stipulated number of events per athlete, and under-age and over-age registrations shall attract the following:
A) Automatic disqualification of the concerned athlete from the Festival; withdrawal of Accreditation and expulsion from accommodation facility
B) Automatic suspension of his/her or state sport coach from participating in the Festival, withdrawal of accreditation and expulsion from Accommodation facility
11.7 Any athlete that falsies his/her identity, age, indigeneship and/or residency shall be disqualified and banned
Rule 12: Entries
12.1 Only states’ sports Ministries, Councils or Commissions shall present competitors for the NDSF
12.2 The right of final confirmation of entries rests with the MOC
Rule 13: Trials and Selection of Athletes
The NDSF is designed to ensure open and wide participation across communities of the Niger Delta Development Commission states.
Accordingly, there shall be:
13.1 Open preliminary trials for the selection of athletes from the Local Government Areas through the Districts Level to the State level in all the states
13.2 The preliminary trials shall be open to all interested and qualified persons across all the Local Government Areas of the states
13.3 The trials shall be conducted by each State Sports Commission, Ministry or Council with the supervision of the State Liaison Committees
13.4 The Sports Officer of a Local Government Council shall be coopted in the execution of the process in his/her Local Government Area
13.5 The preliminary trials shall be conducted in line with the guidelines provided by the MOC and in accordance with the rules of each sports federation
13.6 Selection of athletes shall be based strictly on performance and according to stated standards of the MOC
13.7 Every athlete selected for the NDSF must have participated at all the levels of the preliminary trials in his/her state
13.8 The State Liaison Committees working with the States Sports Ministries, Commissions or Councils must ensure the provision of accessible registration platforms for all interested athletes through the provision of multiple registration platforms, such as online, offline or mobile, to cater to different segments of the population
13.9 The State Liaison Committees must ensure that registration instructions, deadlines and requirements are clearly communicated through various channels, including social media, local newspapers and community centers across the states
13.10 The MOC shall provide funding support though the State Liaisons Committees to each state for the processes of the state trials and selection, the amount of which shall be determined by the MOC
13.11 The final selection and entry of athletes for the NDSF shall be conveyed to the MOC not later than 2 (two) weeks to the event
Rule 14: Ineligibility
The following group of athletes are ineligible to participate in the NDSF:
14.1 A person above the age of 25 years
14.2 Any person under suspension by a National Sports Federation
Rule 15: Consents
15.1 All competitors under the age of 18 years shall present a Parent/Guardian Consent to participate
15.2 All athletes shall sign a consent to the Rules and Regulations of the NDSF to be forwarded with their entries as follows:
“I understand that as a competitor in the NDSF, I am participating in an event of importance and in consideration of the acceptance of my participating therein, I agree to be filmed, televised, photographed, identified and otherwise recorded during the event under the conditions and for the purpose now or thereafter authorised by the MOC in relation to the promotion of the NDSF. I also agree to comply with the Rules and Regulations currently in force and in particular, with the provision of the Rules regarding the eligibility for the NDSF.“
The relevant provisions and the rules have been brought to my attention by my State Sports Association and/or Sports Ministry, Commission or Council.”
15.3 All Coaches and/or Team Managers and Officials shall also sign a consent as follow:
“I understand that as a Coach/Official in the GAMES, I am participating in an event which is of national and historic importance and in consideration of my participation therein, I agree to be filmed, televised, photographed, identified and otherwise recorded during the events under the conditions and for the purpose now or thereafter authorised by the MOC in relation to the promotion of the NDSF. I also agree to comply with the Rules and Regulations currently in force and in particular with the provisions of the Rules regarding the eligibility for the NDSF.”
The relevant provisions and the rules have been brought to my attention by my State Sports Association and/or Sports Ministry, Commission or Council.”
Rule 16: Accreditation
16.1 All processes of the accreditation shall be handled by the MOC
16.2 All athletes and officials shall present themselves for accreditation as a condition for participation in the NDSF
16.3 The accreditation of athletes and officials shall commence on the day of arrival and close on the third day of the Festival
16.4 The accreditation of journalists and other personnel of the Festival may be extended by the discretion of the MOC
16.5 The accreditation card shall be issued to the degree necessary in each case and as indicated thereon, access to the venues and events delimited on the card.
16.6 The MOC determines the categorization of each person and sets the condition
16.7 All accredited participants must wear their Accreditation tags appropriately at all times during the Festival except only when in competition
16.8 The MOC reserves the right to withdraw any accreditation based on reasonable grounds of misconduct and threat to the success of the Festival
Rule 17: Infringement of the Rules
17.1 The MOC may withdraw accreditation from any person who infringes on the Rules and Regulations of the NDSF
17.2 Any State whose athlete, team or official disrupts an event, shall pay a fine of N300,000.00 (Three Hundred Thousand Naira only). Failure to comply shall attract a ban from the next NDSF.
17.3 Any State that uses an ineligible athlete shall pay a fine of N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira only) and in addition lose the benet of any medal(s) won by the athlete. The medal so withdrawn shall be awarded to the next finisher. The State Secretary and the Head Coach of the Sport concerned shall also be suspended from participating in the next NDSF.
17.4 Any State that withdraws from any team event after registering to participate shall pay a fine of N100,000.00 (One Hundred Thousand Naira only)
17.5 Any state that withdraws an athlete from participating in an event after accreditation shall pay a fine of N50,000 (fifty thousand naira)
17.6 Without prejudice to Rule 10 (2 to 5 above), withdrawal resulting from unforeseen circumstances shall be given due consideration by the MOC
17.7 Any state that defaults in the payment of any fine shall have its medals withdrawn from the Medals Table until such payment/s are made.
Rule 18: Doping
18.1 There shall be in-competition Dope Test during the NDSF
18.2 Athletes shall be called up at random or due to reasonable suspicion for dope test.
18.3 Any athlete that fails to present himself/herself for a Dope Test when called up shall be reported to the National Federation of the sports for sanctioned in accordance with Doping regulations
18.4 Any athlete that fails a Dope Test shall be reported to the National Federation of the sports for sanctioned in accordance with Doping regulations
Rule 19: Protest
19.1 All protests arising before, during or after an event shall be forwarded to the Appeals Committee of each sport with a nonrefundable fee N10,000.00 (Ten Thousand Naira) only
19.2 Where the protest borders on the outcome of an event such protest must be lodged not later than 2 hours after the event. The Appeals Committee of the concerned sport must decide on the protest within 12 hours of its lodgement.
19.3 Any appeal against the decision of the Appeals Committee shall be forwarded to the Technical Sub-Committee of within 4 (four) hours from the time the decision is communicated to the appellant with a non-refundable Appeal Fee of N20,000.00 (Twenty Thousand Naira only). The Technical Sub-Committee must decide on an Appeal within 12 hours of its lodgement.
19.4 Appeals against the decisions of the Technical Sub-Committee shall be forwarded to the MOC within 4 hours from the time the decision is communicated to the appellant with a non-refundable Appeal Fee of N50,000.00 (Fifty Thousand Naira only). The decision of the MOC is final.
Rule 20: Games Symbols, Torch/Flags
20.1 There shall be a symbolic Festival Torch for the NDSF
20.2 The Festival Torch shall be lit in a ceremony preceding the Festival and taken on a Tour of the participating states
20.3 The Festival Torch shall be brought into the Opening Ceremony to indicate the commencement of the Festival and shall be put off at the Closing Ceremony
20.4 The flags of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, the NDDC, the NDSF and the participating states shall be hoisted at the Opening Ceremony and flown full during the games.
20.5 The MOC may direct the hoisting of the flags at other designated competition venues
20.6 Each flag shall measure at 2.5m x 1.5m
20.7 The flags shall be lowered at the Closing Ceremony
20.8 The MOC shall appoint Festival Ambassadors for the NDSF and assign functions to them as may be required for the promotion of the NDSF
20.9 The number of Festival Ambassadors for each edition shall be determined by the MOC and the appointees shall be drawn from the roll call of Niger Delta sports legends and icons
Rule 21: Liabilities
21.1 The MOC shall be responsible for the funding of the NDSF
21.2 The MOC acting through the Event Managers may source additional funding for the Festival by way of corporate and brand sponsors/partners who may be entitled to articulated media/publicity windows
21.3 The MOC shall support the States’ Sports establishments for the transportation of the State Contingents to and from the host state
21.4 The MOC shall provide feeding for the state athletes and officials from the date of arrival till the morning of the day of departure
21.5 The MOC shall provide an appropriate group insurance cover for all participating and accredited athletes and accompanying officials
21.6 In the event of any occurrence, the affected participant shall be entitled to indemnity only to the extent as provided for in the group insurance
21.7 The MOC shall liaise with the Government, Security Agencies and relevant authorities of the Host State to ensure the provision of security and adequate safety measures for participants across all facilities in use for the Festival
21.8 The MOC shall ensure the provision of adequate Medical services for participants during the Festival
Rule 22: Scouting
The MOC shall deploy and support athletes’ scouting activities in the NDSF with a view to facilitating the process of athletes’ development and career building
Rule 23: Cultural Promotion
The MOC shall take measures to incorporate the promotion of the Arts, Culture, Music, Cuisines and such other Entertainment and Touristic values of the Niger Delta in the delivery of the Festival
Rule 24: Insurance
All athletes to festival proper to be insured
Rule 25:
Adequate Medical provision to be made
Rule 26: Force Majeure
The MOC reserves the right to shift the venue, date or any liabilities provided in the Rules and Regulations herein in the circumstances of Force Majeure
Reward System
- Cash Prizes + Trophies for Overall Winner and
Runners Up - Donation of Legacy Sports Facility or Equipment to Overall
Winner and Host State - Individual Cash Prizes for all medalists
- General daily allowances for all athletes and coaches
- Cash Prizes + Trophies for Overall Winner and