Welcome to February at NUGA, January Recap and University Sports Progress
We step into February on the foundation of a structured and eventful January across the Nigerian University Games Association community, marked by institutional progress, campus competitions, and planning across member universities.
A key milestone was reached on Monday, 19 January 2026, with the formal signing of the Memorandum of Agreement for the hosting rights of the 28th NUGA Games by the University of Calabar. The ceremony, which included the official presentation of the NUGA flag, established early coordination between NUGA and the host institution and formally initiated preparations for the 2026 Games.
January also recorded strong campus level sporting activity across Nigerian universities. The University of Abuja VC Cup held from 19 to 28 January 2026 brought faculties together in extended inter faculty competition, strengthening participation and campus sports culture. The UNIBEN Super Cup, held on 23 January 2026, delivered high level inter departmental football competition across male and female categories. Toward the end of the month, the UNIUYO Freshers Olympics 1.0 opened on 30 January 2026, creating an early participation and talent discovery platform for new student athletes.
In addition to sporting activities and host preparations, January marked a communications milestone with the official public digital release of NUGA DIGEST, the associations newsletter platform. The Digest now provides member institutions, students, athletes, administrators, and partners nationwide with structured access to verified NUGA updates, reports, and development activities across university sports via email. To access our newsletter, kindly fill in your details at the bottom of our website homepage.
Looking ahead, preparations continue toward the 28th NUGA Games, alongside expanding inter campus competitions and continental engagement pathways. Attention is also building toward the FASU Games scheduled for 9 to 16 August 2026 in Cairo, expanded programming for this years International Day of University Sport IDUS held annually on September 20th, and the 2 Day Sports Administrators Clinic scheduled for 12 to 13 March 2026 in Abuja, aimed at strengthening governance and professional capacity within university sports systems.
February, therefore, opens not as a reset, but as a continuation, building steadily on Januaryâs groundwork across Nigerian university sports.