Athletes and officials are worried about the logistical difficulties caused by the dispersed locations of the venues at the 2024 National Sports Festival in Ogun State. The Gateway Games are being held in various places, including the capital Abeokuta, as well as Ikenne and Sagamu. According to Bala Mogaji, Chairman of the Kwara State Sports Commission, these logistical issues are impacting the athletes’ performance. He stated, “The significant distance between the venues is hindering athletes’ performance.” “Managing logistics and ensuring complete participation is challenging,” Mogaji stated. Team Niger’s Haruna Idris emphasized that future festival organizers need to focus on improving logistics. The primary difficulty we have faced in this situation is related to logistics. “The dispersed locations are having a significant impact on the performance of athletes,” he remarked. “It’s challenging to travel a long distance from Ikenne to Abeokuta and still perform at your best as an athlete.” Naimat Ahmed, a handball player from Team Sokoto, expressed that they are working hard to handle the difficulties. “It hasn’t been simple, but we are managing well.” “We can only wish that such matters will be handled more thoughtfully in the future,” she stated. “It’s essential to do things correctly for athletes to achieve their best performance.” Written by Adeboye Amosu in Abeokuta. Image by Ganiyu Yusuf