Minister of Sports Development, John Enoh, has stressed that the ministry has started reviewing Nigeria’s poor performance at the Paris 2024 Olympics.
Recall that Nigeria sent 88 athletes to compete in 12 sports at the 2024 Olympics, and all of them failed to win a medal for the country. This marks one of the country’s worst showings in Olympic history.
Enoh acknowledged the disappointment and emphasized the need for reflection as the country prepares for the upcoming Paralympics, scheduled to commence on August 28 in Paris.
The minister expressed regret over the subpar performance of Team Nigeria and extended his apologies to Nigerians.
He highlighted the provision of necessary funding, early payment of allowances, and timely disbursement of training grants, indicating that financial constraints were not a factor in Nigeria’s Olympic campaign.
However, he admitted that the outcomes did not meet the nation’s expectations and emphasized the need to provide a comprehensive explanation to the public.
The Sports Minister’s statement reads: “The Olympic Games, Paris 2024, has ended, and I accept that our performance should have been a lot better. It fell short of our objectives, expectations, and hopes of Nigerians. I must apologize to our compatriots and reflect on what went wrong while looking forward to the Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 (August 28- September 8).
“In all these, the President and Commander-in-Chief of the Federation, HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ensured that funds were not a limiting factor. Athletes’ competition requirements were provided, allowances were paid early, and training grants were disbursed to all athletes. I made myself readily available to deal with any issue throughout the competition. Therefore, the underwhelming performance of our team is puzzling. We owe Nigerians an explanation.
“As a responsible organization, we have swung into a review process. We shall evaluate the competition readiness of every athlete comprehensively, including their injury and medical history within the limits of patient confidentiality. The role of coaches and administrative staff will also be examined.”
Enoh also discussed the challenges faced by the Ministry of Sports Development in preparing for the Olympics within a limited timeframe. He revealed that when he assumed office in August 2023, the ministry had to oversee four major international competitions, including the AFCON, the African Games, and the Olympics and Paralympic Games, all within a short period.
He explained: “When I assumed office as the Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I was confronted with the task of executing four international competitions namely the AFCON, the African Games, and the Olympics and Paralympic Games in a matter of a few months. I was also reminded that the Olympic Games is the world’s supreme sports competition, and countries require at least four years to prepare for it. I held extensive discussions with the management staff of the ministry and got to know that preparations for the Olympics, which was less than a year away, had not started.
“After the African Games, subsequent meetings were limited to the federations that had bright chances of qualifying for the Olympics. Medal projections were made by all the federations, although their athletes were still trying to qualify; which lasted until about June 2024. The concerned federations prioritized qualification over preparations for the Games. This seems to have always been the case. This has to change.”