The Sports Writers Association of Nigeria (SWAN) has decried the shambolic performance of Team Nigeria at the 2024 Olympic Games, saying the authorities need to act swiftly to save the sports sector from imminent disaster.
In a statement, SWAN President, Isaiah Benjamin, through the Association's Secretary-General Amb. Ikenna Okonkwo said it was unacceptable for Nigeria to return from the just concluded Olympics without a medal.
The Association attributed the massive failure of the country in Paris to largely administrative incompetence and negligence which were obvious after Nigeria's highly rated Track and Field Athlete, Favour Ofili's name was found missing from the list of those meant to compete in the 100m event.
With the outcome of the Games, SWAN wondered why so many promises of medal haul were dished out by the Sports authorities when they were aware that there was nothing on the ground, including the level of preparation to guarantee a podium performance.
Bayelsa United Chairman Seeks collaboration With SWAN.
Read More: https://nigerdeltaconnect.com/nff-premium-trust-bank-seal-4-year-n300m-deal
Nigerians were meant to believe that all was well when the Sports Ministry kept assuring that the performance of Nigeria at the 2024 Olympics would surpass the country's best-ever outing at the Atlanta 1996 edition.
"The entire media fraternity in Nigeria was equally surprised to hear that the reason Nigeria didn't perform optimally in Paris was due to lack of preparation as various Sports Federations, as it has now been exposed that the Federations only focused on ensuring that their athletes qualified for the Olympics but did nothing to prepare them for Olympics performance.
"The result from Paris goes to show that so much needed to be done that was not put in place, despite the huge amount of taxpayers’ money that was made available by the federal government just for participation.
“This cycle has to be put to a stop because it is now obvious that Nigeria's Sports needs a breath of fresh air.
"It is a well-known fact that sporting talents abound in Nigeria but the management of these talents leaves so much to be desired. In the past and even at the just concluded Olympics, Nigerians, some of them who had competed for Nigeria, switched allegiance to other countries and did so well to win medals," the statement said.
The SWAN leadership therefore called on the Federal Government to as a matter of urgency restructure the entire sporting sector and ensure that only people who have the knowledge and passion for sports are allowed to operate in such a critical sector.
