As Nigeria celebrates its 64th Independence Day, Abiodun Adewale highlights some moments from the past year that further deepened the country’s fascinating sporting history.
Nigerians have been participating in international sporting events since before independence in 1960.
Sixty-four years later, the sports field is even bigger, there are many unforgettable memories (both good and bad), and the list continues to grow.
high speed
U-19 Women’s Cricket World Cup Ticket
Ahead of another Independence Day, cricket, one of the “so-called minor sports”, gets a boost in Nigeria thanks to the Junior Yellow Greens, a women’s U-19 team who booked their ticket to Rwanda on Sunday. gave. Although their last match against Zimbabwe was canceled due to rain, the Nigeria women’s team made it through the group stage with a perfect record, including a one-wicket win against Zimbabwe, and were rated as the best team in the qualifiers. This is the second time Nigeria has qualified for the Cricket World Cup, with the U-19 men’s team achieving the feat in 2019.
Coincidentally, the victorious team is also scheduled to arrive in the country today, Tuesday, as the country celebrates its 64th Independence Day.
Paralympic athletes shine again
The Nigerian team’s seven medals at the 2024 Paris Paralympics may be the country’s worst performance at this summer’s games, but the athletes’ feat ranks among the best the country recorded last year. One of them was para powerlifter Folashade Oluwafemiyo, who broke her own world record in women’s 86+ kg para powerlifting, becoming the first para athlete in history to lift 166 kg and winning a gold medal in the process.
Para-badminton player Bolaji Eniola also became the first African athlete to win a badminton medal at the Olympic and Paralympic Games. Nigeria won two gold medals, three silver medals and two bronze medals.
Oshova’s boxing world title
UK-based Nigerian boxer Elizabeth Oshoba wins the world title with a 6-0-1 KO of Italy’s Michela Braga in the 10th round of a bout held at the Royal Arena in Copenhagen, Denmark She became the first Nigerian female boxer to do so. , will become the new WBC Silver Featherweight Champion on Saturday, January 13th.
It was Oshova’s fourth career knockout victory, and while she suffered her first professional loss to Braga, she extended her perfect professional record to seven straight wins.
Ademola Lookman’s Europa League heroics
Atalanta forward Ademola Lookman, dubbed the next African Player of the Year, warmed the hearts of Nigerians with his performance at the 2023 AFCON in Ivory Coast earlier this year, scoring three goals to lead Nigeria to runners-up place. Ta. His individual talent also helped Atalanta win their first European title, as he scored a historic hat-trick in the 3-0 victory over Bayer Leverkusen in the 2024 Europa League final. The 26-year-old finished the season with 16 goals and nine assists in all competitions.
Osimhen, Oshoala APOTY Award
For the first time since Kanu Nwankwo and Mercy Akide in 1999, Nigeria has produced a male and female African Player of the Year award, with Victor Osimhen and Asisat Oshoala crowned in Marrakech, Morocco in December 2023.
Oshoala’s award is a record-extending sixth time, while Osimhen ends Nigeria’s 24-year wait for the award for men. It is safe to say that it was a night that reaffirmed Nigeria’s dominance in Africa, even though the men’s crown is likely to be handed over to another Nigerian soon. This could be a repeat of the handover from Rashidi Yekini in 1993 to Emmanuel Amuneke in 1994. Other Nigerians who have won the crown since independence include Victor Ikpeba (1997) and Kanu (1996 and 1999). Akide (1999 and 2001), Perpetua Nkwocha (2004, 2005, 2010, 2011) and Cynthia Uwak (2006 and 2007) are other women who have received this award.
2023 AFCON Silver
Nigeria’s first AFCON was held in 1963, three years after independence. Earlier this year, Portuguese coach Jose Peceiro’s Super Eagles finished runners-up in the tournament in Ivory Coast, making it the fifth time the country has finished runners-up. After a fierce battle throughout the tournament, they lost to the host country, Ivory Coast, 2-1 in the final. Vice-captain and defender William Troost-Ekong was also named player of the match after scoring three goals, including the winning goal.
lowe’s
paris olympics no show
Stories of Nigeria’s sporting woes have resurfaced after 88 athletes representing the 2024 Paris Olympics failed to win medals. This will be the eighth time in the country’s Olympic history, which began in Helsinki in 1952 (before independence). Nigeria began competing in the Olympics before independence in 1960, but the country won its first medal at the 1964 Tokyo Games, thanks to the late boxer Nozeem Mayegun, who won bronze.
Ofili’s story
At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the Nigerian sports world has also set new records, with women’s 100m sprinter Favor Ofili crying out for being excluded from the competition despite passing the qualifying rounds. This is the second blow the country has dealt to its sprinters, who were previously denied the chance to compete at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics after failing to take part in pre-competition testing.
Sports Development Minister John Enoh has set up a commission of inquiry to find out the reasons for Ofili’s non-participation, among other issues that rocked the N9 billion Naira participation in the Paris Games.
Facility of Lost Glory
Despite the presence of huge stadiums in almost every city in Nigeria, there are only 64 approved stadiums in Nigeria that can host CAF matches. Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo, home of the Super Eagles, is the only stadium approved by CAF to host matches, while other facilities, including the National Stadium in Surulere, are dilapidated. The country hosted two FIFA tournaments in 1999 and 2009, but the stadium only served as a club venue.
U-17 AFCON/World Cup absent
Nigeria, who have appeared in the FIFA U-17 World Cup five times, are the most successful nation at this level, but have not been able to make an impact in the competition since 2017, when they failed to qualify.
Nigeria’s golden eagles have conquered the world five times in different generations (1985, 1993, 2007, 2013 and 2015), demonstrating the talent that the country produces. However, they will miss back-to-back tournaments (2023 and 2025) after suffering a crushing defeat in the WAFU B Tournament earlier this year.
The Nigeria Football Federation further confused the situation after announcing that they had qualified for next year’s last tournament in Ivory Coast, after a 3-2 win over Ghana in the third-place play-off was not enough to secure their place. announced that it was not enough. spot.
Doping prohibited
There has been a long list of Nigerian athletes suspended for some form of doping offense since 1960, and that number increased between late 2023 and early this year. Nigerian sprinter Divine Oduduru and boxer Cynthia Ogunseirore have come under fire from various groups for their involvement in performance-enhancing drugs.
Oduduru was suspended for six years for two anti-doping rule violations (ADRV). The athletics department’s integrity division announced that there was “overwhelming evidence” against him. The case comes as US prosecutors charged therapist Eric Lira with supplying performance-enhancing drugs to athletes at the Tokyo Olympics.
Oduduru’s teammate Blessing Okagbare was suspended for 11 years for doping in the lead-up to the Tokyo Games and refusing to cooperate with the investigation.
Lightweight boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore has been provisionally suspended from the Paris Olympics after testing positive for a banned substance ahead of her first Olympic match, an international testing agency announced.
Ogunsemilore tested positive for the diuretic furosemide, which is on WADA’s prohibited list, during an out-of-competition doping test.
