Deaf Sports Stakeholders To Protest Exclusion From National Sports Festival
Deaf sports stakeholders in Lagos State are set to stage a peaceful protest at the National Stadium, Surulere, on Monday over the exclusion of deaf sports from the 2026 National Sports Festival in Enugu, despite the inclusion of para sports.
The protesters are demanding an end to what they describe as discriminatory treatment, insisting that deaf athletes deserve equal opportunities to compete at the national event.
The festival, tagged the Coal City Games, is scheduled to hold in Enugu from November 27 to December 11, 2026.
In a related development, the Nigeria Deaf Football Association has announced another peaceful protest in Abuja from October 19 to 22, targeting the Presidential Villa and the National Assembly Complex.
The association is also demanding the payment of outstanding allowances and bonuses owed to the Nigeria Deaf Eagles from the 2023 World Deaf Football Championship in Malaysia. It further alleged that outstanding obligations to the International Committee of Sports for the Deaf, covering registration, accommodation and feeding, remain unpaid.
President of the Nigeria Deaf Sports Federation, Alhaji Suleiman Dagbo, said the National Council on Sports approved the inclusion of at least three deaf sports as compulsory events at a meeting in Enugu on May 22, 2024.
According to Dagbo, the provision was incorporated into the festival's general rules.
At the 2024 Gateway Games in Abeokuta, Athletics, Badminton and Table Tennis were selected as the compulsory deaf sports. A total of 124 deaf athletes from 22 states participated, winning 100 medals, including 28 gold, 28 silver and 42 bronze.
The stakeholders are now calling on the federal government and sports authorities to address their concerns and ensure that deaf athletes are not excluded from the forthcoming festival.
