Kelvin Bowoto
Commodore Omatseye Nesiama (rtd), former technical director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), disclosed that Nigeria sent more than 50 athletes on scholarships to American colleges in 2023 alone. Nesiama stated in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Lagos that athletics had expanded by leaps and bounds in Nigeria.
“Over 50 of our athletes have moved to the United States in the last year, which is an impressive feat. These athletes are in the developmental category and have gained interest from schools in the United States, leading to scholarship offers. We can’t argue that because they’ve left, we’ll be unable to shop for more; therefore, we’ve lately provided possibilities for home-based businesses through two competitions.
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“We have also spotted a few more talents to add to the pool of the ones we have before, and they are all in the camp ahead of the African Games,” he went on to say. On what to expect from Team Nigeria, Nesiama, who was recently appointed as one of the referees for the athletics 13th African Games, said that the team, which includes both seasoned and emerging athletes, would finish on the podium.
“The majority of the home-based teams to the African Games, almost 90%, qualified for the games by standard, so we must take them.
“Another issue is that the majority of our foreign-based athletes are in school, and we don’t have much time to send them out to compete at the African Games; only a few of them who are pros will attend.
“We are not completely reliant on foreign-based athletes, which allows us to offer domestic athletes a chance to show themselves. “Our team for the African Games is a good mix of foreign and domestic athletes,” he remarked.
Techrectory with Agency Report.
