The lineup for the NSF Inter Club Challenge Abeokuta-2024 is now complete following the South-South Zonal Play-off in Benin City, Edo State. Benin Scrabble Club, Victory Scrabble Club of Warri, and Uyo Scrabble Club have secured their spots for the finals in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
Benin Scrabble Club led the pack with 10 wins and a cumulative points of plus 1287, followed by Victory Club with 9 wins and plus 1390 points. Uyo Scrabble Club, despite a tough run, garnered 6 wins. Unfortunately, Yenagoa Scrabble Club could not make it to the finals, finishing at the bottom with a minus 1035 cumulative points.
In the South-West playoff, UNILAG Scrabble Club, under the leadership of Enoch Nwali, dominated their group with three wins, securing their place in the finals alongside other clubs like Pyramid Scrabble Club and Surulere Scrabble Club. Surulere Club made it to the NSF Inter Club Challenge finals as winners of the second chance playoff of the South West Zone. They edged out Ibadan Scrabble Club and Lekki Scrabble Club with, three wins and a plus 450 cumulative points.
28 clubs from 13 states and the Nigeria Police Club competed in the qualifiers to make it to the finals. The NSF Inter Club Challenge promises intense competition at the June 12 Cultural Centre in Abeokuta between April 15 to 21, 2024. The qualifiers are as follows:
Apart from the Inter Club Challenge, other events lined up for the NSF Scrabble Festival include the Asaph Zadok National Championship, the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and the Awards and Gala Night.
Edited from news stories by Maxwell Kumoye
Four additional teams have secured spots in the finals of the Nigeria Scrabble Federation Inter Club Championship, set to take place in Abeokuta, Ogun State, South West Nigeria.
The University of Lagos Scrabble Club, Ikorodu Scrabble Club, Pyramid Scrabble Club, and Surulere Scrabble Club, all from Lagos State, earned their places in the finals during the South West Zonal Playoff. 
Under the leadership of Enoch Nwali, current African Scrabble Champion, the University of Lagos Scrabble Club dominated group A, defeating Ibadan Scrabble Club and BSP Scrabble Club. Ibadan Scrabble Club finished second in group A, with BSP Scrabble Club coming in third.
Pyramid Scrabble Club, led by Dipo Akanbi, a former NSF Green Jacket holder, advanced to the final phase of the championship with wins over Surulere Scrabble Club and Egbin Scrabble Club in group B. Ikorodu Scrabble Club secured three wins in group C, outperforming Lekki Scrabble Club and the newly-formed Alausa Scrabble Club. Surulere Scrabble Club qualified for the finals as winners of the second chance Play-Off, defeating Ibadan Scrabble Club and Lekki Scrabble Club.
Kaduna Central Scrabble Club was the first team to secure their place in the finals after defeating South Side Scrabble Club to claim the Northwest slot. Apex Scrabble Club of Abuja, led by Nigeria Scrabble Federation (NSF) Technical Director John Curtis, also qualified for the finals from the North Central Zonal Play-Off.
Jos Scrabble Club and Anambra Scrabble Club have also secured their places in the finals, with the South South Zone yet to decide its Play-Off.
Teams through to the finals include Jos Scrabble Club, Apex Scrabble Club, Anambra Scrabble Club, Abeokuta Scrabble Club: the host city club, Kaduna Central Scrabble Club, Surulere Scrabble Club, Ikorodu Scrabble Club, Pyramid Scrabble Club, and the University of Lagos Scrabble Club.
Twenty-eight clubs from thirteen states and the Nigeria Police participated in the race to reach the finals of the NSF Inter Club Championship. The Inter Club Championship is part of the NSF Scrabble Festival, which also includes the Asaph Zadok National Championship, the Annual General Meeting (AGM), and the Awards and Gala Night.
Delta State is the defending champion of the Asaph Zadok National Championship, with Eta Paul Karo currently holding the NSF Green Jacket.
Edited from reports by Maxwell Kumoye, head, NSF Media and Publicity
Nigeria Scrabble Federation earlier this week on Sunday 8th and Monday 9th of May 2022 conducted trial tournaments to select a formidable team for the 2022 West Africa Scrabble Championships (WASC) (more…)
| S/N | Name | National Ratings (as at 18/10/2021) | National Ranking (as at 18/10/2021) | Justification |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Emmanuel Umujose | 1704 | 1 | Satisfies basic criteria for selection (i.e. National Rating) |
| 2 | Eta Karo | 1695 | 2 | |
| 3 | Godwin Victor | 1677 | 3 | |
| 4 | Anthony Odok | 1662 | 4 | |
| 5 | Rex Ogbakpa | 1658 | 6 | |
| 6 | Wellington Jighere | 1653 | 7 | |
| 7 | Dennis Ikekeregor | 1652 | 8 | |
| 8 | Oshevire Avwenagha | 1648 | 9 | |
| 9 | Olatunde Oduwole | 1613 | 13 | |
| 10 | Ezinore George | 1610 | 14 | |
| 11 | Emmanuel Ofidi | 1606 | 15 | |
| 12 | Doko Oluwatimilehin | 1593 | 19 | |
| 13 | Enoch Nwali | 1587 | 20 | |
| 14 | Prince Omosefe | 1586 | 21 | |
| 15 | Pius Alhassan | 1583 | 22 | |
| 16 | Nsikak Etim | 1519 | 46 | WILDCARD: Double Gold Medalist at Edo 2020 Ntnl. Sports Festival. |
| 17 | Tuoyo Mayuku | 1432 | 99 | WILDCARD: Highest Rated Female Player. |
| 18 | Jimoh Abdulmumin | 1507 | 51 | WILDCARD: Highest Rated Youth Player. |
| 19 | Igali Precious | 1552 | 34 | WILDCARD: Possesses potential to excel in "on-line" Scrabbling. |
| 20 | Opeyemi Oloro | 1520 | 44 | WILDCARD: Possesses potential to excel in "on-line" Scrabbling. |
The above-listed names have been selected to participate in a qualifier for the selection of players to represent Nigeria at the "Scrabble Gladiators" WESPA Virtual Scrabble World Championship scheduled to hold from the 20th November to 5th December 2021 via the Woogles online Scrabble platform.
The aforementioned are expected to affirm participation on or before the end of Monday, October 25th, 2021 to the Technical Director - NSF either by GSM (08036257270), WhatsApp, SMS, or Email (jnrprof@yahoo.com), else slots would be reallotted to other players on standby.
For the purpose of this Qualifier, scheduled to take place on Saturday 30th and Sunday 31st of October, 2021, respectively - basic requirements needed by Invited players for effective participation shall include:
Other necessary information/instructions would be communicated to invited players on confirmation of participation.
The Scrabble Gladiators WESPA Virtual Scrabble World Championship has been scheduled to hold from the 20th November to 5th December 2021 via the Woogles online Scrabble platform. In respect of the above, the following are criteria for the selection of players to be invited to participate in a qualifier from whence 7 players would be selected (as allotted) to represent Nigeria at the inaugural tournament.
You can also download a PDF copy of this document by clicking here.
The Rating cut-off date for the selection of invitees is 18th October 2021.
Note: Players that have been inactive on the Nigerian Scrabble Circuit in the last 6 months shall not be eligible for selection, irrespective of ratings as indicated on the National Rating List.
Basic requirements by players for effective participation shall include:
A total of 20 games shall be played over 2 days for the purpose of this qualifier.
15 minutes will be allocated to each player per game/round.
The WESPA Virtual Scrabble Tournament Rules shall be used for the purpose of the qualifier (see Tournament link: - https://bit.ly/3BmUJsV).
Please note: Further necessary information would be communicated to all (and subsequently,
Invitees and successful qualifiers) as they develop.
John Curtis
Technical Director – NSF
