By Morolani Oluwafemi

The Sigma Club, University of Ibadan, has held a press conference ahead of the 2026 Sigma Sports Festival.

The conference, held at Room 2A of the New Faculty of Arts building on Saturday, August 22, 2026, provided details on the events, participation requirements and schedule for this year’s festival.

Speaking at the press conference, the Chairman of the Sigma Sports Festival Committee, Loyalist Oladoja Ayomide, gave a background to the event and explained its purpose.

According to him, this year’s edition is an expansion of last year’s festival, with Marathon and Ludo added to Football, Table Tennis, Scrabble and Chess.

“The festival will begin on Saturday, August 29, with Marathon being the opening event. The Marathon is a 10km individual road race for both male and female,” he said.

Oladoja stated that participants in the football and marathon events must present a report from the University Health Service, Jaja card and student ID card, alongside other necessary information.

“The map will be released before the event to the contestants and the general public,” Oladoja added.

On the Football tournament

A total of 26 teams, comprising 16 male teams and 10 female teams, had registered for the football tournament as of the press briefing. Registration for the category is now closed.

According to the organisers, the tournament will adopt a league-phase format, with all teams placed on a single table.

“To make things more interesting, we are going to adopt a Champions League-like format, where all the teams will be placed on a single table. They will then play a total of three matches each,” the Deputy Chairman of the Sigma Sports Festival Committee, Loyalist Salawu Toheeb, said.

For the male category, each team will play three games in the league phase, with the top eight progressing to the knockout stages. The organisers said the female category will follow the same format.

Regarding the timing, Toheeb said each half of the men’s football matches would last 30 minutes, based on the “Sigma Standard.”

He said the Old SUB Pitch would serve as the venue throughout the tournament, although some adjustments would be made to the field during the competition.

The committee also emphasised the importance of teams arriving on time.

Oladoja said each team must have 18 eligible players, with a maximum of two DLC students allowed on a team, as well as a registered coach and a team owner.

Teams are expected to come with materials needed for their players. In the event of an injury, the club can provide first aid, while cases requiring further treatment will be referred to the University Health Service.

Indoor games

The indoor games which comprises of Table Tennis, Scrabble, Chess and Ludo are expected to attract 100 participants each.

The committee chairman also said registration remained open for Marathon, Table Tennis and Scrabble and was free, while registration for Football, Chess and Ludo had closed.

For the board games, Oladoja said the committee would provide the boards and other materials required.

The prize pool for the indoor games is ₦100,000, to be shared among participants who finish from first to third place, while incentives will be awarded to participants who finish from fourth to 10th.

The indoor games will be held at the SUB Car Park, with arrangements made to provide space for spectators.

Participants will play an equal number of games, with the winner determined by the highest cumulative points.

Each game and round will be timed, with breaks provided for participants at the end of each round.

The committee said the indoor games would be held on different days to prevent clashes for participants registered for more than one event.

The Table Tennis tournament will progress from the qualifying stage to the knockout stages and will be divided into male and female categories. The committee will provide the boards and equipment.

The sporting events are scheduled as follows:

Marathon: Saturday, August 29, 2026 (Opening ceremony)

Football: Monday, August 31 to Saturday, September 12, 2026

Ludo: Sunday, September 6, 2026

Scrabble: Tuesday, September 8, 2026

Chess: Thursday, September 10, 2026

Table Tennis: Friday, September 11, 2026

All indoor games will be played at the SUB Car Park by 2PM on their respective days.