Sportsville Special Recognition Award Sets March 28 Date for Sixth Edition in Lagos

Organisers of one of Nigeria’s most glamorous and credible sports award ceremonies have announced March 28 as the date for this year’s edition of the Sportsville Special Recognition Award.

According to a statement signed by Harry Iwuala, Chairman of the 2026 Award Committee, the ceremony will be held on Saturday, March 28, at the prestigious Lagos Country Club, Ikeja.

Iwuala, who also serves as Media Director of the Nigeria Premier Football League, described the announcement as the culmination of months of meticulous planning and a painstaking selection process.

“We’re delighted to announce a date for this year’s ceremony following a painstaking planning and selection process. It has been months of planning and preparations, and I am glad that we have finally picked a date for the ceremony,” Iwuala said.

He assured stakeholders that the list of honourees — to be unveiled in the coming weeks — would reflect the award’s core values of integrity and credibility.

“We will be unveiling the personalities and corporate organisations to be celebrated very soon, but I can assure you that they are men and women who have done a good job in sports development in the country.

“Our selection process was thorough to keep faith with the Award motto, which is credibility,” added Iwuala, who has also headed the Media Committee of the successful Niger Delta Games in successive editions.

Sixth Edition Promises Innovation

Speaking on behalf of Sportsville Communication Ltd, the organisers of the award, Chief Executive Officer Frank Ilaboya, said preparations are already in top gear for what promises to be an innovative sixth edition.

“This year will be our sixth edition, and I am happy with the impact and progress the award has made in the country,” Ilaboya stated.

He emphasised that credibility remains the cornerstone of the awards.

“One thing that gives me joy is the credibility of the award we give out every year. We ensure that those truly deserving get the award. And we are determined to keep doing this year after year.”

According to Ilaboya, awards will be presented in seven categories this year:

• Sports Icon
• Sports Personality
• Sports Transformative Category
• Special Recognition Category
• Achievers Category
• Innovative Category
• Sports Facilities Category

He added that the long-term ambition is to elevate the Sportsville Special Recognition Award into Africa’s most glamorous and respected sports honours platform.

“We will keep on working hard year in and year out until we achieve our target of making the Sportsville Special Recognition Award the best and most glamorous not only in Nigeria but in Africa.

“The past five years have proven to be exciting, and the level of plaudits from the awardees and non-awardees alike shows that we are on the right course,” Ilaboya said.

Celebrating Two Decades of Sports Broadcasting

The Sportsville Special Recognition Award was initiated five years ago as part of activities marking 20 years of continuous broadcast of Sportsville as an independent producer of sports programming in Nigeria.

Today, Sportsville stands as one of the longest-running independent sports shows on air in sub-Saharan Africa — a testament to resilience, consistency, and commitment to sports development.

With the March 28 date now confirmed, anticipation is building within Nigeria’s sporting community as administrators, athletes, corporate sponsors and media personalities look forward to another evening of celebration at Lagos Country Club.

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