2024: Sighs And Hisses In Sports

*Another year bursts the dust

A poisonous cocktail of poor talent management and shambolic preparations in spite adequate funding ensured that Nigeria became the butt of jokes on the world stage.

With only a few days until 2024 hurtles to a close, and in typical Nigerian fashion it has been a year littered with ups and downs for the country’s sports.

Following an Olympic year where Nigeria provided its usual unsavoury performances, there were little expectations for 2024.

Football and basketball provided joy and sorrow in equal measure, but the story of the year – and one which put Nigeria in a favourable and positive mileage – is the 2024 CAF Awards in which Nigerian poster boy, Ademola Lookman stepped into the shoes of Victor Osimhen as African Footballer of the Year.

Lookman has been head and shoulders above his peers during the year in review. It was not surprising that his exceptional performances made him the undeniable frontrunner for the prestigious African Footballer of the Year award.

Lookman’s consistency has been nothing short of remarkable. Representing Nigeria and Atalanta, he delivered standout performances that underscore his class and impact.

He was pivotal in leading Nigeria to the AFCON final in February. He inspired Atalanta to their first-ever UEFA Europa League final in May, where he scored a stunning hat-trick against an hitherto undefeated Bayer Leverkusen side.

Unlike many award recipients who typically represent Europe’s most elite clubs, Lookman shattered expectations by dominating with Atalanta, a team with no major trophies in its history before his game-changing contributions. His brilliance in the UEFA Europa League final cemented his status as one of the year’s brightest stars.

CAF’s timeline for the award—covering performances between January and October 2024—further highlights Lookman’s superiority. During this period, he scored 22 goals and registered 18 assists, thriving as both a winger and a versatile forward. His exceptional form consistently elevated Atalanta and Nigeria, making him a key figure in both camps.

It’s Lookman’s unmatched achievements that earned him the distinction of being the only African shortlisted for the 2024 Ballon d’Or, where he placed 14th. Such recognition underscores his superiority.

And the new King of African football in his grace and candour lightened the already darkened sporting scene of Nigeria which was ingloriously heading into history with so much sighs and hisses of regrets.

His victory in Marrekach, Morocco abated misery, by the doubling of our joy and the dividing of our grief. The year that was gradually waning, suddenly lit up to give Nigerians hope anew. It was like light which made the darkness disappear.

The Olympic Games that are considered the world’s foremost sporting event came with its attendant confusion for Team Nigeria. Favour Ofili, one of the star athletes who qualified for the 100m race was not favoured as her name was chalked off the starting line-up for Team Nigeria. While smaller countries were winning medals, we were busy washing our dirty linens at the world stage. Ese Ukpeseraye revealed that she was forced to compete with a borrowed bicycle in the Keirin and sprint at the Paris Olympics. She said that she did not have the equipment to compete and the German team lent her their bicycle for the event.

Team Nigeria and Paris 2024 Olympics debacle

It is such sad news and a bitter pill to swallow to realize that Team Nigeria actually returned from the Paris 2024 Olympics empty-handed, without a single medal, despite the hype created by both the government and the team.

Before the 2024 Paris Olympics, former Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh, expressed his aspiration for Team Nigeria to surpass its best Olympic performance, achieved at the 1996 Atlanta Games.

Enoh urged Nigerians to support their athletes throughout the Games.

In a statement by Diana-Mary Nsan, S.A. Media to the Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Enoh said, “We are confident that with the support of every Nigerian, our team will excel and make the nation proud.”

With that level of assurance coupled with the calibre of athletes Nigeria took to the Olympics, it was believed that the country’s performance would be a marker in Paris.

For a team that boasted high-performance athletes, including a world record holder in the 100m hurdles, Tobiloba Amusan, to have returned without a medal of any colour was a shameful and shambolic outing by all standards.

To make matters worse, virtually all members of Team Nigeria had exited the tournament even before the games wound down at Stade de France.

Despite having a contingent of 88 athletes that participated in 12 sports for Nigeria at the Paris Olympic Games such numbers failed to translate into success.

Team Nigeria competed in badminton, basketball, boxing, canoeing, cycling, football, swimming, table tennis, taekwondo, weightlifting, and wrestling.

The United States of America won the Paris Olympics with a total of 126 medals, surpassing China’s 91, and both countries tied with 40 gold medals.

To put it bluntly, Team Nigeria at the Paris Olympics endured one of its worst performances since joining the Olympic movement as an independent country at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics. Zero gold. Zero silver. Zero bronze.

The embarrassing outing matched that of Mexico 1968, Moscow 1980, Seoul 1988, and London 2012. Even as a debutant in 1964, Nigeria won one bronze medal.

At Rio 2016, Nigeria managed one silver medal. Four years later in Tokyo, the country won one silver and one bronze. The most successful year was 1996 when Nigeria won two gold, one silver, and one bronze medal.

At least nine African countries, including Kenya and South Africa, won gold, but the “Giant of Africa,” with over 200 million people, returned empty-handed.

This was despite over N12 billion released for this year’s Olympics, which was almost twice the amount budgeted for the entire Ministry of Science and Technology for 2024.

The former Sports Minister confirmed before the start of the Games that the Federal Government approved and released over N12 billion for Team Nigeria, with N9 billion budgeted for the Olympics.

The remaining N3 billion covered the country’s Paralympics team, which held in the same city from August 28 to Sept. 8.

Sports analysts say many factors were responsible for Nigeria’s abysmal performance, including administrative shortcomings and poor talent management.

Nigeria had glimpses of success, but hope was dashed as the athletes who carried the dreams of the sports-loving country failed to shine.

Tobi Amusan did not make the final of the women’s 100 meters hurdles, despite coming into the Games as the world record holder.

Ese Brume finished fifth in the women’s long jump, while Blessing Oborududu suffered a painful defeat, ending her contest in the women’s 68kg wrestling event without a podium finish.

Hannah Reuben lost her Women’s Freestyle 76kg fight early, effectively putting to rest the country’s hope for making the podium. Mongolia’s Enkh-Amaryn Davaanasan defeated her 5-2 in the round of 16 tie.

Basketball:

In basketball, the women’s national team, D’Tigress, showed a glimmer of hope after beating top teams, Australia and Canada, to make it to the quarter-finals. Coached by Rena Wakama, D’Tigress became the first African basketball team, male or female, to get to the quarter finals of the Olympics. But they fell short against eventual gold medalists, Team U.S.A.

In addition to the poor performance, the country dealt with several controversies at the Games.

The most prominent was the non-registration of Favour Ofili for the women’s 100-meter race despite holding one of the best qualifying times.

Another was the revelation by cyclist Ese Ukpeseraye that she had to borrow a track bike from the German team to perform in the Keirin cycling event.

The administrative issues continued with athletes agitating over the disparity between the amount paid to foreign-based athletes and their home-based counterparts.

Nigeria-based athletes who represented the country at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games demanded equal training grants as their foreign-based counterparts.

It was learned that foreign-based athletes were paid $5,000 as their training grant for the Games, while their local counterparts received $1,000.

However, it was not all doom for Nigeria, as Ofili became the first Nigerian to make the women’s 200-meters final in 28 years. Samuel Ogazi also broke a 38-year jinx by making the men’s 400m final.

Additionally, Nigeria had three athletes—Brume, Ruth Usoro, and Prestina Ochonogor—in the women’s long jump final event.

But no factor arguably counted more against Nigeria than talent migration, because while Nigeria won no medal, several athletes of Nigerian descent won laurels of different hues for their adopted countries.

Some of these athletes include Yemisi Ogunleye (gold, Shot put, Germany), Samuel Omorodion (gold, football, Spain), Michael Olise (silver, football, France), Anette Echikunwoke (silver, hammer throw, U.S.), and Barthélémy Chinenyeze (gold, volleyball, France).

Others include Salwa Eid Naser (silver, Bahrain, 400 meters), formerly known as Ebelechukwu Agbapuonwu, who performed at the 2013 School Sports in Port Harcourt and the National Youth Games in Ilorin, and Femi “Bam” Adebayo (gold, U.S. basketball, men).

There was also Rasheed Adeleke of the Republic of Ireland. Though she did not have a podium finish at the Olympics, she has been an Irish national record holder. Ayomide Folorunsho competed for Italy in the women’s 400m.

Similarly, Saheed Idowu competed in the Table Tennis event wearing the colours of the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Out of these seven athletes who won medals, the story of Echikunwoke was the most touching as it was reported that she was set to compete for Nigeria way back at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics before switching her allegiance to the U.S.

Echikunwoke could have competed in green and white but for administrative oversight by the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN). Instead, the 28-year-old became the first American woman to win an Olympic medal in the hammer throw event.

The AFN had failed to comply with a rule that requires athletes to undergo three out-of-competition tests within a 10-month period before a major event. Echikunwoke said she had10 months and contacted AFN six times in that timeframe, but no one came to test her in the USA.

Indeed, Echikunwoke’s story is just one among many of such Nigerian athletes who chose to migrate to other foreign countries for one reason or another.

Some have had to endure and put up with such nonchalant attitude and negligence from the Sports Ministry, Athletics Federation of Nigeria, and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).

A case in point is that of Nigerian athlete Favour Ofili, who expressed her disappointment and frustration after being omitted from the 100m Women’s event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

This unpardonable exclusion has been attributed to the negligence of both the AFN and the NOC. Ofili took to Instagram to voice her frustration.

Ofili later competed in the 200m race but ended up with a disappointing sixth place finish in the final.

John Owan-Enoh had pledged to implement severe actions to make amends and assuage the anger of the sports fraternity.

In a statement on his official X account, Enoh expressed strong dissatisfaction with the AFN and the NOC for their mishandling of the registration process.

Enoh criticized the negligence, declaring it unacceptable and promising that those responsible would face sanctions after a thorough investigation. On return from the Games, Senator Enoh set up a 7-Member Committee to investigate the negative exposures the country was subjected to at the 2024 Paris Olympics and Paralympic Games.

Although the minister has been moved to another ministry, the report indicted AFN officials. Ofili was awarded some financial compensation.

Why do Nigerian elite athletes easily accept nationality switches?

Analysts say the first reason is the search for better facilities and training opportunities. Foreign countries may offer superior training facilities, coaching, and support staff, giving athletes a competitive edge.

Unfortunately, Nigeria’s sports system faces challenges like inadequate funding, poor facilities, and administrative issues, driving athletes to seek opportunities elsewhere.

There is also the issue of financial incentives, as some countries offer attractive financial packages, scholarships, or sponsorships to athletes, which can be a significant draw.

Citizenship and residency requirements are also factors, as athletes may have dual citizenship or residency in another country, making it easier to represent that nation.

Last but not least is the Olympic eligibility rules, whereby the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allows athletes to switch nationalities under certain conditions, making it possible for Nigerians to compete for other countries even after competing under the green-white-green flag.

It’s indeed a complex issue with various factors contributing to their decisions. However, it is essential to acknowledge the athletes’ personal choices and decisions while also addressing the underlying issues in Nigeria’s sports system.

CHANGES:

Following the last cabinet reshuffle, President Bola Tinubu effected serious changes in the country’s sports architecture. He returned the National Sports Commission and appointed Mallam Shehu Dikko as chairman. He also appointed former Ogun State Commissioner for Sports Bukola Olopade as the Director General of the NSC.

However, only time will tell what lies ahead for the future of Nigerian sports.

Football

Super Eagles:

Football has had its highs and lows. Early in the year, the Super Eagles, playing in the postponed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, got to the final where they lost to the host country 2-1. With a silver medal in the kitty, the man who led them to the tournament Jose Peseiro ended his stay as his contract ran out.

From that golden height, the Super Eagles were plunged into an unmitigated crisis that has seen the team not having a substantive coach till this day. Peseiro’s erstwhile assistant, George Finidi who succeeded him left after only three months in-charge due to poor results. Finidi’s tenure saw Super Eagles’ worst run in a World Cup qualifying campaign. In a group which features Rwanda, South Africa, Republic of Benin, Lesotho and Zimbabwe, Nigeria lies 5th on 3 points after four matches. The campaign resumes in March, 2025.

Meanwhile, under interim coach Austin Eguavoen, the Super Eagles qualified for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.

Super Falcons:

Like the rest of Team Nigeria to the Paris 2024 Olympics the Super Falcons were in France but returned empty-handed. The team lost all three group matches to Brazil, Spain and Japan.

However, the Super Falcons have ended 2024 as the top team in Africa.

According to the latest FIFA rankings, the nine-time African champions are the 36th best team in the world, which also makes them No 1 in Africa.

The Super Falcons also emerged the best women’s national team in Africa, while the team’s number one safe hands, Chiamaka Nnadozie won CAF’s best goalkeeper of the year.

Wrestling

Dr Daniel Igali, Bayelsa State Commissioner for Sports arguably remains one of the best sports administrators of our time. Under his watch, he has taken wrestling to a global level where the likes Blessing Oborodudu, currently ranked as the world number two woman wrestler and also the first wrestler to win an Olympic medal representing Nigeria. She is also a twelve-time African champion from 2010 to 2023 and Odunayo Adekuruoye who also has won a cocktail of medals for Team Nigeria. Igali won Canada’s first ever Olympic gold medal in wrestling at the 2000 Summer Olympics and remains Canada’s only male Olympic gold medalist in wrestling. For the love of his fatherland, Igali relocated to Nigeria with his expertise in the mat’s sport. He spoke to us on Team Nigeria’s performance in the year under review.

Nigeria’s performance in sports in 2024 is quite mixed. We went to the Africa games in Ghana and came second which is traditionally what we do at the Africa games. However, the gap between Egypt and Nigeria in terms of gold medals leaves a lot to be desired

We also participated at the Paris 2024 Olympics and had a very disappointing performance by not winning a single medal. That shows clearly that preparations over four years were inadequate, and funding was irregular at best.

At the Africa military games, Nigeria came first position overall. There is a need for sports federations to incorporate some of the talents in the military to the national teams.

The national sports Festival is held every couple of years. The last edition was two years ago in Asaba, Delta State. However because of inadequate facilities, funding gaps and logistical arrangements, it appears the festival could not be held in 2024. Such issues signal the level of preparations of the country.

Generally, sports in Nigeria had at best a passable performance, slightly underwhelming in 2024. Our inability to win a single medal at the Olympic Games signals, a very worrying trend in our sports funding and management paradigm.

Nigeria needs to invest at the local government, state and national levels adequately. Nigeria sports has a huge funding deficit by the corporate sector. We should be empowered by legislation to make good use of the lottery as other countries; the results from Sports as we’ve seen in 2024 is a direct reflection of our preparations and funding.

Looking forward, with the re-introduction of the National Sports Commission, if we were judged from the statements of the new chairman of the National Sports Commission about providing yearly preparation funding for multi-sports games we hope that funding issues, manpower issues, administrative issues, may be addressed so that Sports can take its rightful place in Nigeria.

Boxing

Nigerian boxers were at their best at the All African Games in Ghana earlier in the year. On a particular day during the Games the country’s boxers won 8 gold medals. The Nigerian contingent was ruthless in the ring at the Bukom Boxing Arena, Accra, on the day. Team Nigeria topped the boxing competition with 8 gold and 2 silver medals.

However, for the first time since 2016, Nigeria entered three boxers in the Olympic tournament. Dolapo Omole (men’s featherweight), Olaitan Olaore (men’s heavyweight) and Cynthia Ogunsemilore (women’s lightweight) secured spots in their respective divisions by winning the 2023 African Olympic Qualification Tournament in Dakar, Senegal.

However, the country’s boxers never made any headway as Omole withdrew before the Olympic Games began because of injury. Cynthia who held so much promise was disqualified after failing drug test. At Paris Arena, Olaore Olaitan Adam was eliminated by Kazakhstan’s Oralbay Aibek in the round of 16.

The perennial problem of inadequate preparations and poor funding of the sport hampered the boxers as well. Analysts believe that Cynthia’s dilemma could have been avoided if she was under the watchful eyes of a nutritionist.