Before ending its participation a day before the closing ceremony, its athletes had participated in 12 sports.

These were in athletics (35), badminton (1), basketball (13), boxing (2), canoeing (2), cycling (1), football (22), swimming (2), table tennis (4), taekwondo (1), weightlifting (2) and wrestling (6).

Following its first outing through the Super Falcons in Bordeaux in women football on July 25, Team Nigeria has however gone from one misadventure to another in virtually all the events.

Except in women basketball where it participated through D’Tigress which reached the quarter-finals, a feat no African team has ever achieved, Team Nigeria was almost not at the Games.

It was a case of near-misses in several events, with the athletes and teams raising hopes but eventually dashing them and making several Nigerians to lose interest in the Games.

A couple of wins were indeed recorded in athletics, wrestling and basketball, but they were not just good enough to take Team Nigeria near the podium.

This was why the few Nigerian journalists at the women’s weightlifting 71 kilogramme event on Friday where Joy Eze performed were even caught dozing off.

They were waiting for the event to just end.

And it was worse with wrestler Hannah Reuben who, while competing in women’s freestyle 76kg on Saturday, had the problem of not seeing her compatriots in the stands.

She lost 2-5 in a round one bout at the Champ-de-Mars Arena in Paris to Davaanasan Enkh Amah of Mongolia though.

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That was how bad it was for Team Nigeria.

Speaking on the team’s performance while addressing journalists on Friday, Sports Development Minister John Enoh had acknowledged that it was a disappointing performance.

”It was indeed a performance not worthy of our name and the efforts put in,” he said.

Enoh noted that Team Nigeria’s performance not only disappointed Nigerians but also did no justice to the commitment of President Bola Tinubu’s administration to sports development.

“Our performance here (in Paris) belied our efforts both as a government and as administrators, and it did not also justify the efforts our athletes put in.”

He however promised a change, assuring that serious efforts were going to be put into restructuring the entire sports landscape both in terms of personnel and institutions.

“We just have to make changes, no matter whose ox is going to be gored. We must put in place reforms, so as not to have a repeat of what we have just witnessed,” the minister said.

Reuben’s outing on Saturday was Team Nigeria’s final outing at the Games.

But this is aside Sunday’s appearance in the march-past event of the closing ceremony, which is not compulsory any way.

The Nigerian contingent, including journalists and others who found their way to France for the Games, have already started departing for home.

Source: NAN

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The board of Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, on April 19, appointed George as Head Coach of the Super Eagles.

George stated this at his unveiling as the new head coach of the Super Eagles by the Nigeria Football Federation, NFF, at the Moshood Abiola National stadium on Monday in Abuja.

The former Ajax Amsterdam winger, who was assistant to former Super Eagles gaffer, Jose Peseiro, was jointly unveiled by the NFF President, Ibrahim Gusau and Sports Minister, Sen. John Owan Enoh.

“For me, my first target is to make sure we are in line to qualify for the 2026 World Cup, the AFCON qualifiers will also be coming up soon.

“But the major target for me is the two games we have, we will do everything to win against South Africa and Benin Republic.

“Once we do that we will have set the tone and we will take it from there,” he said.

The coach warned that going forward, players would be invited to the Super Eagles based on regular playing time in their clubs and commitment to the national team.

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He dismisses insinuations about having rift with some players in the Super Eagles, stressing that the relationship with the players was ‘perfect’ and professional.

“My relationship with the players is very perfect. I will try to improve on my relationship as this will be different. You will not hear any controversy on my relationship,” he said.

Earlier, NFF President Ibrahim Gusau said the coach would be given all the support he needed to succeed in the task ahead.

“We have given our coach the opportunity to choose his assistants. We won’t impose anybody on him.

“We are going to engage the assistants on game basis but will pay the head coach monthly salary. We want to avoid salary issues,” he said.

The Minister of Sports Development, Sen. John Owan Enoh, stressed the importance of having and supporting indigenous coaches to succeed.

“We have an opportunity to have a local coach to lead the Super Eagles. Back then in my university days, I would go to UJ Eseune Stadium to watch Calabar Rovers and see Finidi George play.

“I am honoured to be here to witness his unveiling; if you love Nigerian football, you must love and support Finidi George. His success will bring joy to Nigerians.

“Any country I find an indigenous coach sitting on the bench, I always feel very proud and I am glad that we have an opportunity to have a Nigerian coach, Finidi George, as football men national team coach, ” he said.

Details of the contract was not revealed.

The coach has picked ex-international, Daniel Amokachi as assistant coach, Olatunji Baruwa as goalkeeper trainer,  Mehmet Ozturk, match analyst, Benjamin James and Chima Onyeike, fitness trainers.

The immediate task of the coach is to get the Super Eagles back on track in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers where Nigeria currently sit third in Group C, with two points from two matches.

Nigeria drew with Lesotho and Zimbabwe in the first two matches in the qualifying series in November.

The Super Eagles will face South Africa and Benin Republic in June, in what has been described as a make or mar clash.

Source: NAN

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He said he wanted to personally supervise what was going on in the sports centre and ensure that things were put in the right place.

“I did a tour of MKO Abiola Stadium, Abuja, and I insisted that instead of having my office at the secretariat, my office as sports development minister has to be at the stadium.

“I have taken that decision already, I have an assignment to make the ministry work and we have to make it work. MKO Abiola Stadium is where we have 90 per cent of the departments of sports.

“The stadium is where we have all the federations’ secretariats, athletes and footballers. For the purpose of coordination and to keep a watchful eye, it is imperative that my office is at the stadium.

“I don’t mind the challenges; what matters to me is the gain in the sports sector. I have also issued a memo to the permanent secretary that the remaining sports departments should be at the stadium,” he said.

Enoh restated that his main focus would be development of sports and how sports could be used for the development of the country.

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“The focus as a sports minister is going to be in two folds; one is the development of sports, the grassroots development, infrastructure and amenities at the grassroots level where the real talents are domiciled.

“I want to see those talents from Ajegunle developed into elite sportsmen. We want to go to those places where there are fewer opportunities, or may not get the opportunity to express themselves.

“I want to provide, like a basketball court for those in the hinterland and others. A lot of times, the great boxers are not produced in the highbrow areas but in the local environments.

“I want to provide these things and not just saying it, and at the end of my tenure, we want to count tangible things that have given us social inclusion which will translate to sports development,” he said.

As part of his ongoing efforts to assess the state of major sports facilities in the country, Enoh inspected the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, on Thursday.

He started his inspection from the stadium complex, where he visited the National Institute of Sports, the boxing complex, main bowl of the stadium, sports medical centre, indoor sports hall and other facilities.

He also inspected the Games Village hostels; Legacy Pitch; Power House, as well as the courts for different sports.

Source: NAN

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