National Sports Commission (NSC) chairman, Mallam Shehu Dikko, has declared that the country’s performance at this year’s Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, provided a platform on which to build plans for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles, USA.
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Sports247 reports that Dikko admitted the contingent could have gained more than 10 gold medals that they eventually clinched, then assured that all lessons learnt would be applied ahead of the Olympics, while all loopholes that occurred in the outing will also be plugged.
Dikko added that the NSC gained valuable insights into areas where Nigeria has comparative advantage, and the country’s sports authorities will channel greater efforts in those aspects, while also investing more in strong medal prospects and further developing emerging disciplines like swimming.
He cited the performance of Nigeria’s young swimmers as evidence that increased funding, adequate welfare for athletes and improved preparation programmes can deliver future success on the international stage, even as he stressed the importance of world-class training facilities.
While noting that the last phase of Nigeria’s pre-competition preparations at a high-performance centre in Aberdeen, Scotland contributed significantly to the athletes’ great performances, Dikko affirmed that Glasgow 2026 revealed that the country’s sports development strategy is yielding positive results.
The NSC’s top shot reiterated that the Commonwealth Games was a platform for assessing Nigeria’s readiness ahead of the Olympics and assured that the commission is already evaluating not only the medals won but also identifying sports where greater investment could produce better results.
“We have learned many lessons from this competition. Now we know where to invest more, where our strengths lie and how best to prepare our athletes. The results clearly show that we are doing the right thing. We are doing far, far better. That shows we are on the right track,” Dikko posited.
