Organisers of the Nigeria’s most prestigious and longest running sports award-Nigerian Sports Award(NSA), has set a target of10,000 nominations to be received for this year’s edition of the award billed to hold on Friday, November 29, 2019at the Eko Hotel and Suites, Victoria Island, Lagos.
Speaking at a media parley for the 2019 edition of the award tagged ‘Naija Flavour’, the Chairman of the Award Panel, Dr. Kweku Tandoh noted that the expectation for this year’s edition was to surpass the 7,000 nominations received in the last edition urging the media to join in the effort to raise public consciousness for nominations.
Tandoh who expressed his appreciation towards the media for their immense support over the years explained that it was imperative that the public get informed on how to nominate their favourite athletes or teams in the different categories of the award given that the All Africa Games as well as other sporting activities will be happening between now and October 15 October 2019, when the process is expected to end.
According to Tandoh, the media has a huge role to play in spreading the message to every part of the country as this would enable sports lovers in those places to be actively involved in the nomination process, thus giving the award more acceptability.
“We want to get a diverse and geographical spread of the nominations from all the part of the nation. We don’t want it to be restricted to Lagos, we want to get the nominations from the West, North, East and the South. . If we let people from all these regions know what we are doing, I am sure they will all be interested in nominating one person or the other in all the categories that we have. For me, the more the nominations, the more acceptable the result we would have at the end”, he stated.
Tandoh further explained that the choice of the theme is a representation of what to expect promising that this year’s award would be a remarkable experience that reflects traditional flavor in its entirety.
Also speaking, Executive Director, Nigerian Sports Award, Mr.Kayode Idowu stated that nomination is open to Nigerians to select their favorite sport personalities by nominating in 22 different categories of the award.
According to him, these categories recognize individuals; males; female; physically challenged; continental participants; indigenous games, media and community builders.
They include; Racket Sports Person of the Year (Lawn Tennis, Table Tennis, Badminton and Squash), Team Sports Person of the Year (Handball, Volleyball, Football, Basketball), Combat Sports Personality of the Year (Wrestling, Karate, Judo, Taekwondo & Boxing), Individual sports person of the year (Weight lifting, Athletics), Basketball player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Discovery of the Year, Footballer of the Year (Women), Footballer of the Year (Men).
Others include; Wrestler of the Year, School Sport Award, Para Sports Person of the Year, Team of the Year, Athletics Star of the Year, Sports Governor of the Year, Sportsman of the Year, Sportswoman of the Year, Sports Journalist of the Year (Radio), Sports Journalist of the Year (TV), Sports Journalist of the Year (Print) and Sports Photo Journalist of the Year
Idowu also stated that this year’s nominations can be done through three channels; Online through the award official website – www.nigeriansportsaward.com/nominations, the manual entries (hard copies) nomination forms available at all Sports Federation Secretariats across the country or via social media platforms (Twitter and Facebook) using each category hashtag.
Also speaking, a representative of Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development who is also a member of the award Panel, Mrs. Hauwa Akinyemi thanked the organizer for their effort in sustaining the award initiative which she noted, has gone a long way to complement government’s role in inspiring sports personalities.
The Nigerian Sports Award is dedicated to recognizing the achievements of our sports men and women, both present and past that have shone brightest in the sporting world.