The much anticipated 11th FASU Games co-hosted by the University of Lagos (UNILAG) and Lagos State University, (LASU) came to an end in a grand memorable fashion on Sunday 29th, September 2024 at the LASU Sports Center, the competition inevitably birthed champions and awakened a new generation of youngsters who will undoubtedly change the trajectory of African sports. 

The competition saw both Lagos universities at loggerheads, and it all paid off as LASU and UNILAG came second and third respectively behind The American University in Cairo, crowned champions of the 11th FASU Games with a total of 46 Gold medals. 

The University of Lagos finished with the highest amount of medals in total amongst all 68 Universities who participated in the competition with 98 medals, winning 25 Gold, 33 Silver, and 40 Bronze medals, however, it couldn’t help but finish 3rd behind LASU who recorded 28 Gold, 30 Silver, 26 Bronze medals. 

Over the nine days in camp, different people who were instrumental in bringing the event to a conspicuous success ranging from Team Leads, Volunteers, Athletes and spectators shared their opinions on the event.

In no regular fashion, this article brings together the opinions of a few. 

Adebayo Olatunde, FASU Volunteer Subcommittee Chairman and FASU Student Committee member stated that his highlights for FASU 2024 was the showcase of cultural heritage by students of different schools. 

“My highlights at FASU 2024 games are numerous, one of them was the opening ceremony, where the schools present showcased their culture. It was a blend of colours and camaraderie. 

I also loved watching the volunteers’ game because not only did the volunteers make the games successful, but they also had time to have fun on the pitch.” 

Olatunde, who is also a Project manager, FISU Education committee member and FISU student committee member, stated that communication was mediocre due to the co-hosting structure of the event. 

“The area that was lagging was communication, and I believe it’s because of the cohosting structure. There was information that should have been spread around but only a few people knew it so it affected the game. A good example was accreditation when it was moved to LASU and we had schools coming to Unilag for accreditation.”

Mustapha Ruqqayah Kemi, Gold and Silver Medalist at FASU 2024 affirmed that the competition exceeded her expectations. 

“I expected intense competition, teamwork, and networking opportunities. FASU 2024 exceeded my expectations in terms of organization and hospitality.”

Mustapha a 300L Human Kinetics Education student at the University of Ilorin who won her Gold medal in Discus throw on her birthday said, “My highlight of the event was winning on my birthday and the camaraderie among participants.” 

Member of the FASU Media Committee and the media Team Lead, Hassan Abdulsalam stated that his highlight of the competition was working with diverse individuals. 

“As a team lead, it was a great experience for me to work with different individuals from different backgrounds.”

Abdulsalam further urged that events like FASU should be encouraged and held even locally to build and groom natural talent in different countries. 

“We need more events like this locally and internationally to groom talents for the country” 

Khalid Oyenuga a 400-level Building student in  UNILAG who was also a volunteer at the 11th FASU Games with the Logistics and Protocol Unit said his expectations to meet a heterogeneous set of people from different cultures and parts of Africa were met and ultimately he achieved his goal at the FASU Games. 

“My expectations were to meet new people and network not just from Nigeria but from different countries in Africa. I must say, my expectations were met as I came out of my shell and made sure to achieve my goals.”

However, Oyenuga bluntly spoke on the mismanagement of volunteers across the games. 

He said, “Volunteers’ management was very poor. Also, organization. They make too many last-minute decisions that shouldn’t have been for such a game. 

Over 10, I’ll rate it 4/10. It’s that low mostly due to the fact that it was co-hosted.”

Ikio Annabel Biobelemoye, a Media Volunteer, in an undiplomatic fashion shared opinions with Oyenuga, saying volunteers were treated below standard. 

She said, “My experience was bliss. I came to FASU wanting to challenge myself and have what I call a ‘mini-Olympics’ experience and I got that. 

“Preparation was below par and it showed in how things were done. Subsequently, they should have people who know the integrities of organising events and people who would allocate funds properly. 

“I had no expectations but I still hoped for a reasonable treatment and I was not giving that. 

Food was promised, once a day, and for some days it was reasonable, but we were once given four little puff puffs as lunch and it came late. The following day we were served unconsumable fried rice. 

“We (Content Writing Volunteers) had to beg for FASU shirts after we were promised two, we ended up getting one

I’ll be general and rate the competition 6 over 10”

Olatokunbo Ajelara., a spectator said the 11th FASU Games was “inspiring” and “very inclusive”, adding that it was a “huge success”. 

“2024 FASU was amazing, it was inspiring, fun, and everything in between. It was very inclusive, seeing how many women, and hijab sisters won their medals. And it was a great way to meet new people.  Overall, it was a huge success.”

She advised that much publicity should be given to events like this, as it helps to encourage other sports talents. 

“These bodies should give more publicity to events like this, which can encourage people with sports talents to showcase what they are capable of, and also generally involve people in watching and enjoying games like these.

And also, be actively involved in the continuity of the careers of the athletes who would like to further in their various fields.”

Co-Team Lead for the Content Writing Unit, Akinlade Temilowa Moses said his highlight of the 2024 FASU Games was being selected as a team lead, adding that it was a moment of learning and understanding different perspectives of people. 

“Getting selected to be a team lead was a huge privilege. Another highlight was getting to meet folks from other parts of Africa, both athletes and volunteers and made friends from Ghana, Egypt and Angola.

“As a team lead, it entails a lot of responsibilities, I had to be responsible for the upkeep and contributions of the volunteers I headed. They were amazing people, even though there were quite a few who were out to stress me, but it’s all part of it. 

“In conclusion, I had to unlearn and relearn a lot and had to learn to process things in my head before giving my response or reaction to people, I mean it’s not easy dealing with people from different backgrounds, different ideologies and attitudes”

Caleb Okhogbe who was the X (formerly Twitter) Social Media Manager for FASU 2024 and a UNIBEN student said his highlights of the 11th FASU Games were, 

“Tripling the number of followers on the X account.

Getting over 150k impressions within 1 week. That’s over 100x the engagement before I started handling the account.

Saving four penalties out of five in the volunteer’s football match.” He said. 

Okhogbe urged that training sessions should be held for volunteers before the event. 

He said, “Specific training in various units before the event, not just for the medical team.”

The 11th FASU Games recorded a huge success, witnessing cultural diversity, a camaraderie amongst athletes and volunteers, and will forever linger in the hearts of many as the best sporting event they will ever witness. 

The next edition of the FASU Games will be held in 2026 and the venue as disclosed at the closing ceremony is Egypt, it is the expectation of everyone present at the 2024 edition that the organizers build on the success and advisory of this edition. 

Above all, it was a great experience and opportunity to be amongst the volunteers of the 11th FASU Games, 2024. 

See you in Egypt come 2026!

Written by David Bolarinwa, Media Volunteer