BY DANLADI BAKO PhD, OON

Without any modicum of doubt, Nigeria’s outing at the 2024 Paris Olympics which ended on Sunday was a disaster waiting to happen.

The Minister of Sports John Owan Enoh has duly apologized to us for this untenable and unacceptable performance.

While tendering the ministry’s apology Senator Enoh  enumerated the challenges he met on ground on assumption of office a year to the Paris games , while so many other serious countries had already met qualifying times for the track and field events , embarked on training tours of their basketball , volleyball, swimming teams.

He listed the lack of adequate preparation for training camps by the Federations among other issues. So where was the optimism about “doing well”  coming from ?

 It’s not the Minister’s duty to do magic one year to an event smaller countries had been drilling and training their  athletes for ten years before now.

While we boast of 200 million citizens we watched St Lucia, a country of 180,000 people win the female 400 metres gold , small Botswana of the southern part of Africa won the male 200 metres gold and the male 4×400 metres relay silver.

Akane Simbine led South Africa to win the male 4×100 metres relay silver. Kenya’s beautiful young Faith Kipyegon won her third successive Olympic games 1500 metres gold from Brazil , Tokyo and now Paris while my dear Nigeria’s gold medal haul still stands at two.

Clearly something has gone wrong. Once upon  a time , Chidi Imoh ,(200metres) , Innocent Egbunike (400metres) , Davidson Ezinwa all got to the finals at major international games be it Olympics or Commonwealth games.

What happened after the reign of  boxing greats Dick Tiger , Nojeem Maiyegun and Peter Konyegwachi ?  Let’s not forget Modupe Oshikoya and Falilat Ogunkoya in the 400meters or our 4×100 female relay quarter of Onyali , Iheagwam and co .

It would seem not too long ago that the National Youth Games twice held in Ilorin , the African Athletics finals in Asaba took place , giving hope to podium places in future .

Alas , the transition from that youth level to professional training and camping seems to be the problem. A second major challenge has been the low number of competition and circuit tours.

In the past Chief Moshood Abiola sponsored an annual Athletics meet regularly, Wahab Folawiyo sponsored the U-20 Athletics meeting annually too.

Same thing for Mobil oil who bankrolled annual competitions over so many years  and we all looked forward to selection trials that featured Nigerian student athletes from the world standard Azusa Pacific University and Santa Monica Track Club come and face serious duels with the Nigerian based stars for a place on the flight to the Olympics.

Lack of accountability of the funds given ,  saw the gradual withdrawal of the sponsorship amongst other factors of inept and incompetent people at the helm of affairs at the various Federations with the exception of Wrestling.

Even the Nigerian Olympic Committee has seen its archaic leadership overstay its usefulness and has run out of ideas just like Swimming, Boxing , Judo , Volleyball and Tennis.

For the government to “renew the hope”  of Nigerians in sports and immediately begin to prepare for the next Olympic games , it must head-hunt dedicated and passionate administrators with sports background who have integrity and private sector funds can be entrusted into their hands , then infuse them into the Federations, there are too many jobbers occupying top positions in the Federations who feed on the system.

The Nigeria Olympic Committee must be revamped through new elections into the executive , and performance-driven persons put in charge.

Government must be definite and intentional in funding scholarships to designated Universities of sports in the United States , China and Cuba for student youth games products.

Finally , nothing works in sports like hiring good high performance coaches from anywhere in the world and setting up a swimming high performance camp in the Niger Delta , sprints high performance camp in South East , long distance high performance camp in Jos and Gembu Mambilla plateau , boxing and athletics high performance camp in Lagos as was done by Colonel Samuel Ogbemudia when he set up Afuze Edo State .

Fortunately, I have no doubt in the very deep interest and support that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu can and is ready to give to the revamping of sports in the country.

He showed that much when he provided a grant of N12billion to the Football Federation during the Nations Cup in Cote D’ivoire earlier this year as well as providing for the Paris Olympics before the start of the tournaments.

My dear friend Senator John Owan Enoh , you have your work cut out and the work starts now.

Contrary to wide spread allegations that the duo of Onome Ebi and  Francisca Ordega were being smuggled into the Paris 2024-bounf Super Falcons, neither of the two make the final squad that has just being named. Head Coach Randy Waldrum has picked captain Rasheedat Ajibade, goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie, defender Osinachi Ohale, forward Asisat Oshoala and 14 other players in his final list of Nigeria’s Super Falcons for this year’s Women’s Olympic Football Tournament in France.

There are also defenders Oluwatosin Demehin and Michelle Alozie, midfielders Deborah Abiodun, Halimatu Ayinde, Christy Ucheibe and Toni Payne, and forwards Esther Okoronkwo, Chinwendu Ihezuo and Uchenna Kanu.

Squad members who are currently on holidays in Nigeria will join home-based players and team officials aboard an Air France flight from Abuja to Sevilla, Spain on Thursday night, with the rest of the playing body and technical team also arriving in Sevilla on Friday for a two-week training camp.

Spain, where the team will be camped, is one of the group stage opponents of the Super Falcons.

The team is scheduled to depart Sevilla for France on Thursday, 18^th July.

Nine-time African champions Nigeria, who are making their first appearance at the Women’s Olympic Football Tournament for the first time since 2008 in China, will tackle Brazil, Spain and Japan, in that order, at this year’s tournament.

To qualify for the 12-team tournament, the Falcons edged South Africa’s Banyana Banyana 1-0, with a strike from the penalty spot in Abuja by Ajibade separating Africa’s top two teams over two legs in the month of April.

Their first game, against Brazil, comes up at the Stade Bordeaux on 25^th July, before confrontations with Spain (28^th July) and Japan (31^st July). The matches against Spain and Japan will hold at the Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, where the Super Eagles famously defeated tournament favourites Spain 3-2 in a memorable game at the 1998 FIFA World Cup finals.

SUPER FALCONS FOR PARIS 2024 OLYMPICS:

Goalkeepers: Chiamaka Nnadozie (Paris FC); Tochukwu Oluehi (Shualat Alsharqia FC, Saudi Arabia)

Defenders: Osinachi Ohale (Pachucha Club de Futbol, Mexico); Oluwatosin Demehin (Stade de Reims, France); Michelle Alozie (Houston Dash, USA); Nicole Payne (Portland Thorns FC, USA); Chidinma Okeke (Mynavi Sendai Ladies, Japan) 

Midfielders: Deborah Abiodun (University of Pittsburgh, USA); Halimatu Ayinde (FC Rosengard, Sweden); Christy Ucheibe (SL Benfica, Portugal); Jennifer Echegini (Juventus Ladies, Italy); Toni Payne (Sevilla FC, Spain) 

Forwards: Rasheedat Ajibade (Atletico Madrid FC, Spain); Esther Okoronkwo (Changchun FC, China); Asisat Oshoala (Bay FC, USA); Uchenna Kanu (Racing Louisville, USA); Chiwendu Ihezuo (Pachucha Club de Futbol, Mexico); Chinonyerem Macleans (Locomotiv Moscow, Russia)

Alternate Players: Jumoke Alani (Nasarawa Amazons); Ifeoma Onumonu (Utah Royals, USA); Gift Monday (Coasta Adeje Tenerife Egatesa, Spain); Morufa Ademola (Rivers Angels)