Ringo Sport Club Nigeria (RSCN), a sports, tourism and leisure outfit, has conferred the NASTOCE 2026 Meritorious Awards on Chief Abiodun Odusanwo, National President, Institute for Tourism Professionals of Nigeria (ITPN), and Dr. Badaki Aliyu, President, Federation of Tourism Associations of Nigeria (FTAN).

Presenting the awards to the recipients in Abuja, the President of the club, Mal Ahmed Mohammed Sule, said the meritorious awards were bestowed on them for their exceptional contributions to tourism development and their strategic roles in fostering the intersection of sports and tourism in Nigeria’s socio-economic growth and development.

He said while Chief Abiodun Odusanwo has been a transformative figure in Nigerian tourism as the National President of ITPN, he has led efforts to professionalize the sector, making it more competitive and future-ready . His extensive experience spans international tourism consultancy, education harmonization in Europe, and advisory roles for the World Bank and WTO on Nigerian trade policy and has driven standardization as Chairman of the SON National Mirror Committee on Tourism and Related Services .

The Ringo Sport Club National President said Dr. Badaki Aliyu has championed the Tourism Transformation Movement initiative aimed at repositioning Nigeria’s tourism landscape, whose objective focuses on institutional strengthening, capacity building, public-private partnerships, policy advocacy, and youth/women inclusion in tourism leadership. As a renown professional and practitioner in the Nigerian Travel Tourism and Hospitality industry, Dr. Badaki’s traverse at Blissy Hospitality and Chairman of HATMAN’s Board of Trustees, to his present enviable position as President of FTAN, Dr. Badaki has been a strong advocate for unity, recovery and strategic collaboration across the sector.

This recognition and conferment on the duo, reflects the critical importance of leadership and professionalism in driving Nigeria’s sports tourism agenda forward, adding further that Chief Odusanwo and Dr. Badaki have demonstrated unwavering commitment to excellence and collaboration, which are essential for unlocking the socio-economic potentials at the intersection of sports and travel.

Responding to the award conferred on him, Dr. Badaki expressed his delight on the resilience of the Ringo Sport Club and its leadership in championing, for the first time, a convergence of critical key players and stakeholders to dialogue on the need to tap into the huge economic benefits inherent in the Nigeria’s Sports Tourism industry, saying that this singular effort has opened the gateway for MDAs and the Private Sector Operators to partner and collaborate in harnessing the vast economic potential of the sport tourism industry that has become an economic hub globally.

While promising the continued support of the Nigeria’s private sector operators in the tourism industry to the activities of the Ringo Sport Club, he called on the government to lend support in the efforts aimed at leveraging on the synergy that exists between sports and tourism for the economic good of the country by establishing a National Council on Sports Tourism.

In his response at the low keyed award presentation ceremony, Chief Odusanwo congratulated the Ringo Sport Club for the successful hosting of the first ever Nigeria’s National Sports Tourism Conference and Exhibition NASTOCE and thanked the leadership of the Club for finding him worthy of the National Sports Tourism Meritorious Award (NASTMA), saying that this will encourage him to do more in the efforts to build a globally competitive skill workforce as well as professionalize the Travel Tourism, Hospitality and Allied Trades of the Nigerian economy.

It would be recalled that NASTOCE 2026, themed Leveraging on the Inter-Section of Multi Sectoral MDAs to Promote Sports Tourism in Nigeria, was held on the 12th May 2026. It is instituted to hold annually, with the 2027 edition, second in the series, billed to hold from Tuesday 4th – Wednesday 5th May, 2027. NASTOCE is the first-ever combined sports and tourism industry event in Nigeria. It provides a platform for knowledge sharing, networking, and showcasing investment opportunities at the nexus of sports and tourism. The conference promises a landmark event potential of being an excellent vehicle for sustainable collaboration among stakeholders in Nigeria’s evolving tourism and sports sectors and basically seeks to foster partnerships, showcase products and highlights the economic benefits of sports tourism for national development.