SOSSAMANIA: The Longest Sporting Event in Unilag Ends in Grand Style, Records Massive Turnout
The University of Lagos (Unilag) witnessed the close of its longest-running sports tournament on 21st May 2026, as the 2026 Social Science Student’s Association (SOSSAMANIA) Sports Festival ended in grand style at the ISL Field and UNILAG Sports Complex.
The 21-day festival, which held from 1st to 21st May, featured nine departments competing across multiple sporting events: Football, Basketball, Volleyball, Athletics, Swimming, Tennis Table Tennis and Indoor games.
Organized by the Sport Director of Social Science Students Association, Umenzekwe Francis, the tournament is regarded as the longest sporting event on the UNILAG calendar.
Over 40 matches were played, covering preliminary group stages, semifinals, third-place playoffs, and finals. Teams were grouped into pools in the early rounds, with top performers advancing to the knockout phase.
Economics Department emerged as the overall champion of the tournament, recording the highest points across multiple events.
Political Science clinched the football title, while the Faculty of Engineering won the men’s 4x100m relay and the Faculty of Arts took the women’s 4x100m relay in the inter-faculty invitational category.
Sossa sport director said this year’s edition recorded one of the highest student turnouts in recent years.
The introduction of the SOSSAMANIA website for live updates, improved officiating, better fixture scheduling, and increased media coverage were cited as key factors that enhanced the experience for participants and spectators.
“The level of sportsmanship, crowd engagement, and athletic excellence witnessed this year showed significant improvement compared to previous editions,” the sport director stated.
The festival also faced challenges, including scheduling conflicts, crowd control issues during high-tension matches, and occasional weather interruptions. Despite these, the event ran without major incidents.
The Sports Director thanked God for the smooth execution of the tournament and expressed appreciation to participating departments, officials, volunteers, the Imperium executives, the Dean and Sub-Dean of the Faculty of Social Sciences, and the university management.
Special recognition was given to Dr. Felix Akeju, Director of Sports, Coach Bishop, Unilag Track Coach, Coach Ijeoma, Head Coach of ISL and Coach Funmi, Head Coach of UNILAG.
Partners FELICITY SOLAR, BUMPAHAV BAKERY, REAKTOR Energy Drink, PLANET DRINK NIGERIA, FIRSTHOMACK Ltd, and the http://WE.YAN app were also acknowledged for their support.
SOSSAMANIA is held annually to encourage student participation in sports and strengthen unity across departments and faculties.
The Sport director said plans are already underway to make the next edition bigger and better.
