Sports Minister Rafiu says discussions are underway to revise how school competitions are structured, including limits on how many events students can join

The Minister of Youth Empowerment, Sports and Fitness, Abdullah Rafiu, on Monday said discussions are underway to revise how school sports competitions are organised this year, including the number of events students are allowed to participate in.

The minister said he recently met with the Ministry of Education and all national sports associations. A committee has been formed among the associations, and meetings have been held with that committee as well as a committee from the Education Ministry, he said.

The meetings focused on how the school sports system will be conducted this year, noting that this year is different from previous years.

“Right now, we are discussing how competitions can be held in a way that allows us to extend academic days as much as possible. These discussions are still ongoing,” Sports Minister Abdullah Rafiu said.

However, he said there had been no discussion about cancelling school competitions. Instead, the talks focused on whether the tournament should be held under the name ‘Inter School’ or ‘Raajje Junior’.

Rafiu said the circular is being finalised with the Education Ministry, and the ministry will hold further discussions with the associations on Tuesday.

The minister said school sports competitions will continue in the future, and the question now is how they should be structured. He said he also wants to review the age groups for festival‑style events.

“We need to decide which age groups will play in festival format and which age groups will compete at an inter‑school level. This is part of what we are discussing, and also how many sports a child should be allowed to take part in,” Sports Minister Abdullah Rafiu said.

He said the purpose of these changes is to ensure children are exposed to a variety of sports from an early age.

Noting the importance of early exposure, the minister said a specific age group should be identified for transitioning children into competitive levels.