The Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC) is worried that poor finances are affecting national sports federations’ preparations for next year’s African Games and Paris 2024 Olympics.
NOC Media Officer, Tony Nezianya, told The Guardian at the weekend that the poor economic situation in the country has put the federations under pressure as they strive to give their athletes adequate training and exposure to excel at the international events next year.
To ameliorate the situation, Nezianya said that the body is seeking ways of ensuring that Nigerian athletes get the required training to excel in international events, adding that it is exploring every means possible to help the federations.
“Some of the sports federations are still struggling to qualify their athletes for the Olympic Games. They are also gearing up for the African Games, which is coming up early next year.
“The African Games is part of preparations for the Olympics. As I speak, the Sports Ministry, NOC and the federations are frantically looking for funds for the Games. Times are tough”, he said.
The 2024 Africa Games will hold from 8 March to 23 March in Accra, Ghana, while the Paris 2024 Olympics will run from 26 July to 11 August 2024.
Meanwhile, Nigeria’s women’s national handball team finished as the third-best team at the Association of National Olympics Committee of Africa (ANOCA) after defeating Ghana in the third-place match at the weekend in Lome, Togo.
Coach Yusuf Abdukadir’s tutored team comfortably defeated Ghana 29-16 to earn the bronze medal.
Nigeria had played two matches in the preliminary stage on Wednesday, winning one and losing the other to Benin Republic and Cote d’Ivoire respectively, which ensured they meet Ghana, who had lost to Burkina Faso 27-22 before defeating Togo 36-19 in the preliminary stage.
Cote d’Ivoire won the gold medal by defeating Burkina Faso 28-16.
ANOCA organised championships in different sports to prepare teams ahead of the African Games.
