Nigeria’s Sports Development Minister John Enoh has publicly apologized following Nigeria’s disappointing performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In a statement shared via the It became.
Nigeria sent more than 80 athletes to the Paris Games, but the team faced a number of challenges, including poor management and poor technical judgment, which led to a disastrous result.
Mr Hainaut, who was appointed in August 2023, said he was immediately tasked with overseeing preparations for four major international competitions: the African Cup of Nations (AFCON), the African Games, the Olympic Games and the Paralympic Games. . . However, even though the Games were less than a year away, he revealed that when he first took office, no foundation had been laid for hosting the Olympics.
“When I took over as Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I was faced with the task of implementing four international competitions… I had thorough discussions with the management staff of the Ministry of Sports and agreed that preparing for the Olympics was important. I found out that it hadn’t even started yet, less than a year ago,” Hainaut said in a statement.
He stressed that the initial goal was to maintain Nigeria’s international sporting reputation, with the aim of replicating or even surpassing Nigeria’s performance at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics. To achieve this objective, the Flame King has initiated a progressive approach by inviting all national sports federations to submit plans and programs. He also initiated a national inspection of sports facilities and established a Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee to guide preparations.
Despite these efforts, Henoh admitted that Nigeria’s preparations for the Paris Games have been limited to federations with “a bright chance of qualifying for the Olympics”. He criticized these federations for prioritizing qualification over thorough preparation, noting that even after complaints were raised, the federations “resisted and defended” the selection process.
“After the African Games, subsequent meetings were limited to those federations with a good chance of qualifying for the Olympics. Medal predictions were made by all federations, but athletes from each federation still qualified. It continued until around June 2024. The federations involved clearly prioritized qualification over tournament preparation. This has to change. said Hainaut.
Reflecting on the overall results, Henoh did not mince words, previously describing Nigeria’s performance at the 2024 Olympics as a “disaster”. He assured the public that the Ministry of Sports would thoroughly evaluate the failure of the Paris Olympics and strive to achieve better results at the upcoming Paralympic Games.
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