The Main Orgainsing Committee of the 2020 National Sports Festival (NSF) says any athlete that changes his/her identity for the purpose of participating in the NSF shall be banned from the NSF for life.
In a statement obtained by www.aclsports.com, an athlete cannot change allegiance from one State to another less than 12 months before the Festival.
According to the Rule 7 (eligibility rules) subsection IV, dual registration of an athlete attracts automatic disqualification.
The statement read, “Any athlete who changes his/her identity for the purpose of participating in the NSF shall be banned from the NSF for life. An athlete shall not change allegiance from one State to another less than 12 months before the Festival”.
In rule 7 subsection VI, military or paramilitary personnel may represent the state of their primary deployment adding that the rule also applies to NYSC Members who are not financially committed to any State.
The rule stated that there shall be no age limit for competitors in the NSF other than as prescribed by the IF of the respective sport.
It further said, “Any athlete or team coach registered to participate in any sport in a Festival shall not act as Technical Official and vice versa. Any person/team under suspension by a National Sports Federation shall not participate in the NSF. In football, a maximum of 3 professionals per team shall be allowed to participate for any State”.
The statement revealed in rule 7 subsection VIII that any athlete or team coach registered to participate in any sport in a Festival shall not act as Technical Official and vice versa.
It said, “An Athlete who is financially committed to a State shall compete for that State for as long as he/she remains under the sponsorship of the State, irrespective of where he/she resides. This is also applicable to an athlete who is on National Youth Service Corps (NYSC) programme and is on state sponsorship”.
