Olympics
Nigeria’s milestone moments in Olympic Games history
Sports Village Square takes a peep down memory lane to highlight Nigeria’s outing across 17 editions of the Olympic Games.
- July 19, 1952 – Nigeria’s flag was hoisted for the first time at the Olympics in Helsinki, Finland. It was the Games of XV Olympiad.
- October 10, 1964 – Nojim Maiyegun won Nigeria’s first ever medal at the Olympics when the light middleweight boxer shared the bronze medal with Józef Grzesiak of Poland.
- August 26, 1972 – Isaac Ikhouria won a bronze medal in the boxing event of the Munich Olympic Games.
- July 28, 1984 – The Nigerian 4 x 400 team of Innocent Egbunike, Sunday Uti, Rotimi Peters and Moses Ugbusien won the bronze medal at the Los Angeles Olympics.
- July 28, 1984 – Peter Konyengwachie won the silver medal in the featherweight category of boxing at the Los Angeles Olympics.
- July 25, 1992 – Richard Igbineghu won a silver medal in the Super Heavyweight category of boxing at the Barcelona Olympics. Also, David Izonritei won silver medal in heavy weight category after losing to Cuba’s Felix Savon in the final.
- July 25, 1992 – The Nigerian quartet of Osmond Ezenwa, Oluyemi Kayode, Olapade Adeniken and Davidson Ezinwa won the silver medal in 4x100m Men at the Barcelona Olympics.
- July 25, 1992 – The Nigerian quartet of Mary Onyali, Faith Idehen, Christy Opara-Thompson and Beatrice Utondu won the bronze medal in 4x100m Women at the Barcelona Olympics.
- July 29, 1996 – Falilat Ogunkoya became Nigeria’s first individual woman Olympic medallist when she won bronze medal in 400 metres at the Atlanta Olympics
- August 2, 1996 – Chioma Ajunwa produced an amazing first round leap of 7.12m to become Nigeria’s first Olympic medallist.
- August 3, 1996 – The Nigerian quartet of Falilat Ogunkoya, Fatima Yusuf, Christy Opara and Bisi Afolabi won the silver medal in 4x400m Women at the Atlanta Olympics.
- August 3, 1996 – Nigeria win the gold medal of the football event of the Atlanta ’96 Olympics. It is the first time a team outside Europe will do that in 68 years. Nigeria also put an end to Europe’s successive victory. Since, no European team has won.
- August 4, 1996 – Duncan Dokiwari wins a bronze medal in the super heavyweight category of boxing at the Atlanta Olympics.
- September 27, 2000 – Glory Alozie won the silver medal for Nigeria in women’s 100 hurdles at the Sydney Olympics.
- September 30, 2000 – Nigeria won the silver medal in the men’s 4×400 relay at the Sydney Olympics. Years later, the quartet was upgraded to gold medalists after the disqualification of the American team.
- September 30, 2000 – Nigeria won the bronze medal in the women’s 4×400 relay at the Sydney Olympics.
- August 27, 2004 – Nigeria won the bronze medal in the men’s 4 x 400 relay at the Athens Olympics.
- August 28, 2004 – Nigeria won the bronze medal in the men’s 4×100 relay at the Athens Olympics.
- August 21, 2008 – Nigeria won the bronze medal in the women’s 4×100 relay at the Beijing Olympics.
- August 21, 2008 – Chika Chukwumerije won a bronze for Nigeria in the men’s heavyweight category of taekwondo at the Beijing Olympics.
- August 22, 2008 – Blessing Okagbare won a bronze medal for Nigeria in women’s Long jump at the Beijing Olympics.
- August 23, 2008 – Nigeria win the silver medal in the men’s football event of Beijing Olympics.
- August 20, 2016 – By beating Honduras 3-2 in the third place match of the football event of the Rio 2016 Olympics, Nigeria became the first football team in the world to win gold, silver and bronze medals of the Olympic football event having won gold in 1996 and silver in 2008.
Nigeria’s men’s and women’s flag football teams made history in Cairo by clinching gold at the first-ever IFAF African Flag Football Championships, a landmark moment in the sport’s journey towards its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
In a thrilling men’s final at Club One Stadium in Maadi, Nigeria edged host nation Egypt 13-12 before a lively home crowd. The match was attended by prominent dignitaries, including Egypt’s Minister of Youth and Sports, Dr. Ashraf Sobhi.
The Nigerian women’s team also delivered a commanding performance in their final, defeating Morocco 26-12. Quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello led the charge with two decisive touchdowns in the second half, securing the title and underscoring Nigeria’s growing dominance in the sport.
Tunisia (men) and Egypt (women) took home bronze medals, completing the continent’s first-ever flag football championship podiums.
Africa Makes History
The two-day tournament (June 20–21, 2025), organized under the auspices of the Egyptian Federation of American Football, featured 11 teams from eight nations. It marked the opening event of IFAF’s 2025 Continental Championship Series, the most expansive competition cycle in flag football history, culminating in LA28.
As newly crowned African champions, both Nigerian teams earned automatic qualification for the 2026 IFAF Flag Football World Championships. The competition also saw 10 national teams receive their first-ever official world rankings.
Emotional Reactions from Champions and Rivals
“This is a great achievement for us and I’m proud of every woman here,” said Nigeria’s women’s quarterback Anuoluwapo Bello. “I’m excited for the opportunity to go to the World Championships and show everyone what we can do.”
“It’s amazing, surreal, historic and unbelievable,” added Nigeria’s men’s quarterback Hayes Obinna-Uzoh. “We’ve made history.”
Egypt’s men’s quarterback Mahmoud Aboushady praised the passionate home support: “We gave it our all but just came up short. The crowd was incredible — a big turnout, all cheering — and that was really touching.”
Morocco’s women’s centre Sonia Mouimen also reflected on the atmosphere: “We rarely see crowds this size making so much noise outside of soccer matches. I’m very proud of my team.”
NFL and IFAF: Partners in Growth
Flag football, one of the world’s fastest-growing sports, is expanding rapidly across Africa. Many IFAF member federations recorded more than 100% growth in participation last year.
The Cairo event was organized in partnership with the NFL, which is working with IFAF to build a sustainable development pathway for the sport across the continent.
Alongside the main competition, the NFL hosted a series of legacy-building activities:
- A continental youth flag football championship for U12 boys and girls
- A talent ID camp offering routes into the NFL Africa-Europe Academy and the International Player Pathway (IPP) program
- A coaching education clinic for aspiring female coaches, featuring IFAF Global Flag Ambassador Elisa De Santis (France)
Star NFL players of African descent, Bobby Okereke (New York Giants, Nigeria) and Tanoh Kpassagnon (Cote d’Ivoire/Uganda), were present in Cairo, joined by two-time Super Bowl winner Osi Umenyiora, the NFL’s Africa lead.
“The first African Continental Championship was a tremendous success, and Egypt proved to be the perfect host,” said Umenyiora. “It was inspiring to see nations from across the continent come together and showcase their incredible talent.”
Looking Ahead
IFAF President Pierre Trochet hailed the championship as a foundational moment:
“Every player and official who set foot on the field in Cairo this week can claim a piece of history. More important than the history is the future. We are committed, alongside the NFL, to using this tournament as a springboard for long-term growth.”
Egyptian Federation President Ali Rafeek echoed the sentiment:
“No words can truly capture the emotion of this moment. It was a world-class competition filled with outstanding performances and incredible energy. Africa is officially on the flag football map.”
The event also marked the beginning of IFAF’s partnership with the International Testing Agency, which launched anti-doping education initiatives for athletes and officials during the championship.
The IFAF Continental Flag Football series continues later this year with EURO FLAG 2025 in Paris, France.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s directive banning citizens from 12 countries from entering the U.S. exempts athletes, and LA28 officials said on Thursday they were confident the Games had the full backing of the administration.
Trump signed the proclamation on Wednesday as part of an immigration crackdown he said was needed to protect against “foreign terrorists” and other security threats.
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“The important thing for us is that the federal government and this administration recognized the importance of the Olympics and the Games,” LA28 CEO Reynold Hoover told Reuters on Thursday.
“There is a carve-out in the order in the travel ban that allows for and assures that there will be access to the Games for the athletes and their families and officials.
“We will be able to have a wide-open Games.”
The countries affected by the latest travel ban are Afghanistan, Myanmar, Chad, Congo Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Haiti, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan and Yemen.
The entry of people from seven other countries – Burundi, Cuba, Laos, Sierra Leone, Togo, Turkmenistan and Venezuela – will be partially restricted.
Casey Wasserman, the chairman of LA28, the private, non-profit company organizing the Games, said he had “great confidence” that the positive working relationship with the administration would continue.
“It was very clear in the directive that the Olympics require special consideration, and I want to thank the federal government for recognizing that,” he told a press conference after hosting International Olympic Committee officials in Los Angeles.
Wasserman added that he did not anticipate the travel ban to have any impact on ticket sales, which will begin next year.
The U.S. along with Canada and Mexico will host the FIFA World Cup in 2026, and Trump said during a task force meeting last month that he wanted people traveling to the U.S. to watch that competition to have a seamless experience during their visit.
“At the White House task force the president, the vice president, all of the administration officials said, ‘We welcome the world to come to FIFA,’” Hoover said.
“I think the administration is welcoming the world to come to LA.”
Hoover said LA28 continues to forge ties with the administration ahead of the mega-sporting event, now just over three years away.
“We have direct communication with the White House through the chief of staff, we have direct communication with the Department of State, and we are working with the State Department to have embedded teams to coordinate visa access,” he said.
-Reuters
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The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will feature an increase in women’s soccer teams from 12 to 16, while the men’s competition will be downsized from 16 to a dozen teams, the International Olympic Committee said on Wednesday.
The decision was part of several changes to the Olympic event programme, including more mixed events across various sports and all team sports featuring at least the same number of women’s and men’s teams.
The IOC said the reason for the sharp increase in women’s soccer teams was the rapidly growing popularity of women’s team sports, especially in the United States, and that change in the competition format reflected that rapid growth.
“We wanted to do something to reflect that growth and equally with the United States being the home of the highest level of popularity of women’s football,” IOC sports director Kit McConnell told a press conference.
He said the IOC had discussed the issue with both LA Games organisers and world soccer’s governing body FIFA before going through with the changes.
The total number of players — men’s and women’s — would not change.
The United States, who will also host the 2026 men’s and the 2031 women’s World Cup, have won five Olympic gold medals in the women’s competition.
The men’s teams use mostly under-23 players at Olympic Games.
The LA Games will have a total of 351 medal events in all sports, 22 more than at Paris 2024 Olympics.
Several sports, including archery, athletics, golf and gymnastics will be adding new mixed-team events, with the total number of athletes unchanged at 10,500.
The five sports proposed by the LA Games organising committee — baseball/softball, cricket, flag football, lacrosse and squash — will have an extra 698 quota places.
-Reuters
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