By Peter Omopo
Lagos, Nigeria — With final preparations underway for the Sports Africa Investment Summit 2026 (SAIS 2026), Ade Adefeko, Board Member and Director of Sports Nigeria Ltd, the organisers of the summit, has paid a strategic visit to the Chairman of the National Sports Commission, Shehu Dikko, as part of high-level engagements ahead of the landmark event.
The visit, which took place in Abuja, focused on deepening institutional collaboration and aligning public-sector support with private-sector initiatives aimed at positioning sports as a key investment and economic growth sector in Nigeria and across Africa.
Speaking during the engagement, Adefeko highlighted the vision behind the Sports Africa Investment Summit 2026, noting that the summit is designed to move African sports beyond passion-driven conversations into structured, bankable, and scalable investment opportunities. He stressed that sports now cut across multiple sectors, including finance, investment, real estate, infrastructure, manufacturing, trade, media, culture, and capacity development, making deliberate policy and investor alignment crucial.
In his response, Alhaji Shehu Dikko reaffirmed the National Sports Commission’s readiness to support credible platforms that promote transparency, innovation, and private-sector confidence in the sports industry. He described SAIS 2026 as a timely initiative capable of catalysing reforms, attracting capital, and unlocking sustainable value within the African sports ecosystem.
The Sports Africa Investment Summit 2026 is scheduled to hold on 10–11 February 2026 in Lagos, with just seven days to go. The summit will feature high-level conversations, pitch sessions, and networking opportunities, bringing together policymakers, investors, industry leaders, and sports stakeholders from across Africa and beyond.
Organisers say the event will serve as a defining platform for reshaping the future of sports as a serious business and development tool on the continent.
Interested participants can register via www.sportsafricainvestmentsummit.com.
See you in Lagos.
