Scrabble will get better deals in 2025 – NSF Boss

The President of Nigeria the Scrabble Federation (NSF), Engineer Toke Aka, says there are many reasons to celebrate the New Year.

Aka said this on January 1^st while speaking on the progress made by Scrabble in 2024 and the challenges faced, and also the plans for year 2025.

“We thank God for a wonderful festive season and for the growth of the mind game this year. We are committed to continuing this development in the coming years.”

He, acknowledged that there were challenges in 2024, but these are been addressed, with others still in progress.

“We are grateful to God for the successes recorded during the African Scrabble Championship in Kigali, Rwanda,” NSF President said.

At the African Scrabble Championship, Team Nigeria took the top honours in all the categories including the Side-Event and the NSF was able to activate all it’s programmes for 2024.

It’s noteworthy to mention that for the first time in history, Nigeria represented by Abdulqudus Olawale Aliu and Sufyan Boluwatife Olojoku took part in the World Youth Scrabble Championship, in Sri Lanka. Abdulqudus Olawale Aliu finished among the top 25 in a field of over a 130 participants with Sufyan Boluwatife Olojoku among the top 30.

This feat was made possible with the support of the Kwara State Government who funded the trip after the Sports Ministry led by Senator John Enoh, refused to support the Federation.

He also encouraged scrabble players and other sportsmen and women including officials to avoid behaviors that could drive away sponsors and friends of scrabble from adding value to it, stressing the importance of upholding values that support peace and unity in the Sporting Community.

Year 2025 is loaded with six major competitions which Team Nigeria has the obligation to attend.

They are: World Youth Scrabble Championship, in Australia; African Youth Scrabble Championship, in Nairobi, Kenya; PANASA President Cup; West African Scrabble Championship; MGI World Team Championship, in Accra, Ghana, and the World English Scrabble Players Association Championship, in Accra, Ghana.

On the home front, the NSF will continue expand the reach of scrabble through the initiative tagged Take Scrabble to Schools and also encourage more female participation in the sport.

We gathered that more competitions are likely to be added to the above domestic list.

The NSF Boss explained that the Federation will work hand in hand with the National Sports Commission (NSC), in order to deliver on its mandate.

 “We will continue to seek for support from the corporate bodies as well as well meaning individuals with passion for scrabble.”