‎Bayelsa qualifies for six team sports at Intermediate Games zonal elimination...turns attention to National Sports Festival elimination

‎Team Bayelsa has secured qualification to compete in six teams sports at the National Intermediate Games after two days of intensive competition among the South-South States in the zonal elimination in Calabar, the Cross River State capital.

‎Bayelsa arrived Calabar for the fiesta with a 400-man strong contingent comprising officials and athletes to compete in the team sports in both men and women’s categories at the zonal elimination ahead of the Intermediate Games slated for Lagos, next year.

‎Abula booked qualification for the Games in both the men and women categories. Abula men’s team finished first in the zone ahead of Delta while the women settled for second place to progress to the maiden of the National Intermediate Games.

‎Volleyball women finished first beating Rivers, Akwa Ibom and Delta States. In the beach volleyball event, Team Bayelsa men also qualified for the Games with wins over Rivers and Akwa Ibom while the female team unfortunately, failed to qualify for the Games proper.

‎Bayelsa finished second in the women basketball event behind Delta. Bayelsa narrowly lost to rivals Delta 30-29 in the deciding tie having taken host Cross River and Rivers to the cleaners in their earlier games.

‎Handball joined Abula to qualify in both the men and women’s events while the women’s hockey finished second to secure qualification to the Games proper.

‎The eight sports Team Bayelsa qualified for include; Abula men and women; volleyball women; handball men and women; beach volleyball men; basketball women as well as hockey women.

‎Both the men and women’s teams could not qualify for the football event. In the last football match of the day, the Bayelsa lads lost 1-2 to Cross River in a match they needed to win. In the same vein, beach volleyball (women); volleyball (men); basketball (men) and hockey (men), also did not make it to the Games proper.

‎In the meantime, zonal eliminations for the 23rd National Sports Festival slated for Enugu from November 27 to December 11, 2026 will commence on Sunday, September 13, at the U.J. Esuene Stadium in Calabar, Cross River State