Enugu hands city marathon, National Sports Festival hosting bid consultancy to Bukola Olopade’s Nilayo Sports Management Limited

The Enugu State government, under Governor Peter Ndubuisi Mbah, has entrusted the management of the two biggest sports events in the state over the next two years to Nigeria’s foremost sports management company, Nilayo Sports Management Limited (NSML).

The governor recently handed over the consultancy for the two events, the 2025 Enugu City International Marathon and the 2026 National Sports Festival Hosting Bid, to NSLM.

In his remarks, Enugu State Commissioner for Youth and Sports, Mr. Ikechukwu Ekweremadu, expressed his confidence in Nilayo Sports to ensure the Enugu City International Marathon becomes a World Athletics-accredited marathon.

While receiving the authorisation letter, the Managing Director of Nilayo Sports Management Limited, Chief Bukola Olopade, expressed optimism that his company would deliver a world-class Enugu City International Marathon in May 2025.

The Enugu State Governor, in his response, noted that the state government would be most delighted if Nilayo Sports can ensure a World Athletics-standard marathon in Enugu, with all the trappings of the Boston Marathon, which is one of the best in the world in terms of spectatorship and the presence of world-class international runners competing on the streets of Enugu.

The Enugu State Governor, through the State’s Commissioner for Youth and Sports, also presented a second letter authorising Nilayo Sports as consultant to the Enugu State government on the 23rd National Sports Festival Hosting Bid.