More than 15 teams are gearing up to compete in the 5th edition of the Federal Education Sector Games (FEDUGAM) 2025, with football taking centre stage in the week-long multi-sport event.
FEDUGAM, an annual sporting competition organised to promote wellness, unity, and professional collaboration among staff of agencies under the Federal Ministry of Education, is scheduled to be held from August 4 to 10 in Lafia, Nasarawa State.
Speaking at a press briefing in Abuja, the Deputy Chairman of FEDUGAM, Mr. Olapade Suleiman, noted that the event would feature 13 sporting disciplines, including athletics, table tennis, volleyball, scrabble, chess, badminton, and others.
He stressed the importance of upholding the integrity of the competition and fostering unity among stakeholders in the education sector.
Suleiman said, “The objective of FEDUGAM is to promote love, interaction, and unity within the Ministry and its agencies. This objective will be defeated if any agency or even the ministry itself fields mercenaries. That would be a serious violation, and we will not take it lightly.
“For the first time, resources have been officially released to facilitate the event. In an extraordinary move, the honourable minister personally signed a strongly worded letter to all participating departments, urging full participation. This level of seriousness has never been seen before, he used to be the Director of Human Resources handling such communications.”
Also speaking, the event’s consultant, Chief Okeyinka Matthew Abiodun, provided further insight into the planning and logistics of the games.
According to him, while only six teams have officially registered for football, all 15 participating teams have shown interest in the 13 other sporting events on the roster.
He said, “Football is the mother of all sports events and globally the number one sport. That’s why we’re conducting the draws early. The remaining events will have their draws at the venue during the games, in the presence of all athletes and officials.”
He emphasised that transparency remains a core principle in organising the games, noting that all draws will be conducted in full view of team representatives and the media.
Abiodun unveiled the official football groupings for the 2025 edition as Group A: Tertiary Education Trust Fund (TETFund), National Commission for Colleges of Education (NCCE), and National Teachers’ Institute (NTI).
Group B: Federal Ministry of Education (FME – Defending Champions), National Universities Commission (NUC), and National Library of Nigeria (NLN).
