SportsNigeria3

Nigerian athletes just returned from the 4th edition of the World Youth Olympics in Buenos Aires, Argentina. They returned with 3 medals – One Gold and two Silver medals. I join all Nigerians in commending the young athletes as they provide a glimpse into Nigeria’s future in sport. That is how it should be. But then, there is a dark cloud hanging over this relative success. Going to the Olympics is a big deal. When I was very young I never thought that those that went to the Olympic games were human. As far as those of us distant from the reality of sports at a high level in the hinterland of Nigeria, they were ‘gods’. So, even when I went to my first Olympics in 1976, I was in such a daze, a state of disbelief and excitement. It went in a blur – very quickly like a candle in the wind, compounded by the Olympic boycott of the games by most African countries. But that was even for a football player for whom the Olympics were secondary to the FIFA World Cup. You can, ima...

The Super Eagles are back. Nigeria’s greatest image makers and international brand ambassadors are back again. This weekend the Super Eagles resume their Africa Cup of Nations 2019 qualifier campaign in the city of Uyo, Akwa Ibom State. A new look national team led by Ahmed Musa, Nigeria’s 2018 World Cup hero, will take on the Mediterranean Knights of Libya twice within a space of three days (the second leg match comes up the following Tuesday in Tunisia, where the Libyans now play their international matches as a result of the insecurity in their own country) to determine who, between the two teams would be at AFCON next year. The match gives Nigerians the first real opportunity to see and to determine how good their new national team is in the absence of the two players that defined the team’s strength in the past decade – Mikel Obi and Victor Moses that have both voluntarily retired from international football for their country. So far, no one seems to be missing them in ...