1,000 Athletes to Compete at NOGIG 2026 in Abuja

Over 1,000 athletes representing 15 oil and gas companies will compete at the 2026 Nigeria Oil and Gas Industry Games holding from February 8 to 14 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium (Package B), Abuja.

Teams representing the participating companies have started arriving in the nation’s capital and training ahead of the games.

According to the chairman of the Media and Publicity sub-committee, Simon Nweke, contingents are officially expected to start arriving in Abuja from February 4 to 6.

“Arrival depends on individual companies, but we expect that from the 4th to the 6th of February, all the contingents will be in Abuja,” Nweke said.

“As we speak, I know some teams are already camping in Abuja, training hard ahead of the games. Every team want to attain a podium finish, so we expect to see very competitive games and the best from our athletes.”

The week-long multi-sport event will feature chess, scrabble, snooker, volleyball, basketball, badminton, swimming, tennis, table tennis, football finals and athletics, among others.

The participating organisations include PTI, NNPCL, NUPRC, NMDPR, and NCDMB. Others are Renaissance Africa Energy Company Limited, OANDO, TotalEnergies, ND Western, Aradel Holdings, ExxonMobil, Shell (SNEPCO), Seplat, Chevron and NLNG.

Nweke disclosed that the Local Organising Committee was working hand-in-hand with various sports federations for technical assistance.

“From the beginning, NOGIG has always partnered the sports federations to provide us with all the technical assistance, like provision of referees, umpires and other technical officials for the smooth running of the games in accordance with the best practices. We play to the rules, and we can’t deviate from that standard,” he said.

At the opening ceremony, the chairman of the Media and Publicity Committee said Nigerians should expect a colourful event with the chief executives of all the participating companies and top government officials among the dignitaries.

“We are ready,” Nweke said, disclosing that the Indoor Sports Hall in Package B has been decorated for the big kick-off.