The National Sports Commission is the

Nigerian Nigerians or the Nigerian people are citizens of Nigeria or people with ancestry from Nigeria. The name Nigeria was derived from the Niger River running through the country. This name was allegedly coined in the late 19th century by British jo ...

apex body responsible for regulating

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

in the country, with Alhassan Yakmut serving as the last Director-General before it was scrapped by the

Muhammadu Buhari Muhammadu Buhari (born 17 December 1942) is a Nigerian politician who served as the president of Nigeria from 2015 to 2023. A retired Nigerian army major general, he was the military head of state of Nigeria from 31 December 1983 to 27 Augu ...

government in 2015. It is headed by the Minister of Sports in

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

. Its origin dates as far back as 1910 with the creation of the Empire Day competition.

Some notable moments

*The first time Nigeria participated in an international sporting event was in 1934 Common Wealth and Empire Day Games held in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. *Nigeria first contingent participation was in

1950 Commonwealth Games The 1950 British Empire Games were the fourth staging of what is now called the Commonwealth Games. It was held in Auckland, New Zealand, between 4 and 11 February 1950, after a 12-year gap from the third edition of the games. A documentary fil ...

1952 Olympics 1952 Olympics refers to both: *The 1952 Winter Olympics, which were held in Oslo, Norway *The 1952 Summer Olympics The 1952 Summer Olympics (, ), officially known as the Games of the XV Olympiad (, ) and commonly known as Helsinki 1952, were a ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

and 1965 All African Games in Brazzaville, Congo *National Sports Council was established in 1962, as a

parastatal A state-owned enterprise (SOE) is a business entity created or owned by a national or local government, either through an executive order or legislation. SOEs aim to generate profit for the government, prevent private sector monopolies, provide goo ...

under the Federal Ministry of Labour *Became established as the National Sports Commission in 1971 (by the Federal Military Government Decree 34 of 1971) *In 1975, Nigeria had her first Minister for Youth and Sports *In 1995, the National Sport Commission was dissolved and replaced by the Ministry of Youth and Sports. *In 2007, the Ministry for Sport and Social Development was again dissolved and then replaced with the National Sports Commission.

Name changes

*National Sports Council (1962-1963) *Ministry of Labour (1964 - 1971) *National Sports Commission (1971- 1975) *Ministry of Social Development, Youth and Sports (1975 - 1979) *Ministry of Youth and Culture (1979 - 1982) *Ministry of Youth, Sport and Culture (1982 - 1990) *Ministry of Youth and Sports (1990 - 1992) *National Sports Commission (1992 - 1995) *Ministry of Youth and Sports (1995 - 1999) *Ministry of Sports and Social Development (1999 - 2007) *National Sports Commission (2007–Present)

References

{{reflist Government of Nigeria Sports governing bodies in Nigeria