Warri South Local Government Area has emerged overall champion of the third edition of the Basic Education School Sports (BESS) Competition in Delta State.
Warri South won eight gold, one silver and one bronze medal at the finals held on Friday, October 16, 2026, at Southern Delta University, Ozoro, in Isoko North Local Government Area.
Ughelli North finished second with four gold and one bronze medal, while Warri South-West came third with one gold, two silver and two bronze medals.
The competition featured primary school pupils from across the state competing in Scrabble, Ayo, table tennis, skipping, track and field, relay races and football, showcasing young talents and highlighting the importance of grassroots sports development.
Warri South recorded an impressive performance across several events, securing gold medals in Scrabble, Ayo, female 100 metres and female 4×100 metres relay, among others.
In Scrabble, Warri South won gold in the male and female categories, while Ika South claimed silver in the female event. Warri South also secured gold in the mixed doubles category.
In Ayo, Warri South won gold in the male category, followed by Warri South-West with silver and Ethiope West with bronze. In the female category, Warri South again took gold, while Sapele won silver and Ika South bronze. Warri South also secured gold in the mixed doubles.
In table tennis, Warri South-West emerged winner in the male category, with Isoko South taking silver and Ughelli North bronze. Ughelli North won gold in the female category.
The skipping events produced victories for Ethiope West in the male category and Ethiope East in the female category. Isoko South and Warri South-West won silver medals, while Ika South claimed bronze in both categories.
Ughelli North demonstrated strength in track and field, winning gold in the male 100 metres, male 200 metres and male 4×100 metres relay.
In the male 100 metres, Sapele won silver, while Isoko South secured bronze. In the female 100 metres, Warri South claimed gold, followed by Ethiope East with silver and Warri South-West with bronze.
Ughelli North also won the male 200 metres, with Sapele finishing second and Ika South third. In the female 200 metres, Ika South took gold, Warri South won silver and Sapele claimed bronze.
The male 4×100 metres relay ended with Ughelli North winning gold, Isoko South taking silver and Sapele securing bronze. In the female relay, Warri South emerged champion, followed by Ethiope East with silver and Warri South-West with bronze.
In football, Okpe Okene Primary School, Okuokoko, emerged champion after defeating Okpolo Primary School, Ewhe, representing Isoko South, 3-1 in the final.
Okpolo Primary School settled for silver, while Olodi Primary School claimed bronze after defeating Ashaka Primary School, Ndokwa East, 4-0 in the third-place match.
Speaking at the finals, the Executive Chairman of the Delta State Universal Basic Education Board (SUBEB), Hon. Samuel Mariere, declared that the BESS Competition has come to stay, describing it as a strategic initiative to revive primary school sports and nurture sporting talents from an early age.
Mariere said the competition reflects the commitment of Governor Sheriff Oborevwori’s administration to strengthening basic education and providing pupils with opportunities to discover and develop their sporting abilities.
He explained that sports play an important role in the development of children by promoting discipline, teamwork, endurance, friendship and social skills, while helping pupils identify potential career opportunities beyond the classroom.
The SUBEB boss said the competition was introduced to restore the culture of organised sports in primary schools and create a platform for discovering and nurturing young athletes.
He recalled that Delta State finished second at a zonal sporting competition held in Benin City in 2025, expressing confidence that the state’s young athletes have the potential to emerge champions at higher levels.
The SUBEB Chairman also referred to another competition in Borno, where he alleged that questionable officiating, disqualification of some Delta athletes and adjustments to scores affected the state’s chances of winning.
He said despite the setbacks, the performances of Delta pupils reinforced the need for sustained investment in school sports and greater opportunities for young athletes to compete at local, state and national levels.
To ensure fairness and protect the integrity of the competition, Mariere disclosed that SUBEB has introduced a policy requiring participating pupils to be bona fide students of the primary schools they represent.
He said the measure was designed to discourage schools from recruiting pupils from outside their institutions to gain unfair advantage, stressing that the competition should focus on genuine talent discovery rather than medals and trophies alone.
Mariere commended Governor Oborevwori for providing financial support for primary school sports since the commencement of his administration, noting that the intervention has helped restore attention to sporting activities at the basic education level.
He cited the sponsorship of pupils from Ogona Primary School in Aniocha South Local Government Area to an international sporting competition in Burkina Faso in 2025 as one of the government’s notable interventions.
Mariere also acknowledged the provision of sporting equipment to primary schools across Delta State through counterpart funding for the 2023, 2024 and 2025 intervention years.
The SUBEB Chairman expressed appreciation to the Commissioner for Primary Education for his support and partnership in advancing basic education and school sports in the state.
He also commended SUBEB Board members, desk officers, officials of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) headquarters in Abuja and its state office in Asaba, Education Secretaries, Local Government Education Authorities and the Department of Academic Services for their contributions to the successful organisation of the competition.
Mariere congratulated the participating pupils, teachers and school administrators, expressing optimism that sustained collaboration among government agencies and education stakeholders would strengthen grassroots sports and prepare young athletes for future opportunities.
The third edition of the BESS Competition reinforces efforts to integrate sports into basic education, promote physical and social development among pupils and establish a foundation for sporting excellence in Delta State.
