The Director General of the National Sports Commission, NSC, Bukola Olopade has disclosed that, as a way to cut down costs of staging the annual National Sports Festival, they are looking to cut down the strength of the usual 15,000 athletes to 7000.
He said numbers of officials from participating states will also be pruned to save costs.
The DG spoke to journalists in Calabar, Thursday as the week long National Council on Sports enters the final laps.
He also disclosed that the reductions in contingents’ strengths and officials will also be applicable to other youth and intermediate games going forward.
“We want to reduce the funding of the National Sports Festival so much so that even the poorest states will be able to host the Festival and take it to their children.”
Olopade said that they want to create a sports system where in the next four to five years that will become production driven and not consumption driven. “And this is what we are pursuing”, he stressed.