President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), Habu Gumel, says the Committee has gone into partnership with Kingdom Sports Group as its Authorised Tickets Reseller (ATR) for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics.
Gumel, who stated this in Abuja on Wednesday, said the partnership was necessary in order to ensure that Nigerians who wish to travel for the Games encountered no hassles.
“We met with the Minister of Youths and Sports Development and other ministry officials yesterday (Tuesday) and discussed what’s best for Nigerians in terms of processing tickets for the games,” he said.
Gumel said it was therefore necessary for the NOC and the ATR to provide adequate information to the Nigerian public on how to go about booking their tickets for Tokyo 2020.
Managing Director of Kingdom Sports Group, Daniel Baniston, said he was in Nigeria to ensure that Nigerians travelling for the Games were fully aware of the packages available through his company.
He said it was important for the company to explain the complexities involved in the ticketing programme for the Olympics.
“Previously within major sports events, people may have purchased their tickets from incorrect or illegal sources and as a result they won’t get entry into the stadium or secure entry visas.
“It is therefore important for the message to go out that tickets can only be purchased through official sources.
“Part of the rules and regulations for Tokyo 2020 is that the ticketing programme is heavily controlled by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and Tokyo 2020 Local Olympic Committee,” Baniston said.
Kingdom Sports Group, an IOC and Tokyo 2020 LOC-accredited ATR which has been involved in 11 Olympic Games, was licensed to provide ticketing services for 36 countries, including Nigeria.
Kingdom Sports Group, an IOC and Tokyo 2020 LOC-accredited ATR which has been involved in 11 Olympic Games, was licensed to provide ticketing services for 36 countries, including Nigeria.
Baniston said Tokyo 2020 was destined to be the biggest sports event the world has ever seen, and that the organisers were currently facing challenges of unprecedented demand for tickets.
“When Japan opened up the applications, there was 92 per cent of Japanese nationals alone who wanted to get tickets to the Games but couldn’t.
“Internationally, there are 20 times larger demands for Tokyo 2020 tickets than there were for London 2012. It goes to show how popular the Olympics have become,” he said.
Baniston said his company’s job was to ensure that as many Nigerians who want to make the trip to Tokyo secure Games tickets to cheer their athletes and have a memorable experience.
