Staff Nigeria’s outing on the ongoing Africa Youth Video games (AYG) in Luanda, Angola, is quick changing into a powerful validation of the nation’s renewed concentrate on grassroots sports activities growth below the management of the Nationwide Sports activities Fee (NSC).
The Video games, designed to safe the way forward for African sports activities by nurturing younger abilities, have been approached with clear intent by Nigeria.
Performing on the presidential mandate of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, GCFR, the NSC has positioned premium emphasis on constructing a sustainable expertise pipeline that begins from the grassroots and progresses intentionally towards elite efficiency.
This dedication is mirrored within the President’s appointment of a Senior Particular Assistant on Grassroots Sports activities Growth and the NSC’s alignment with that imaginative and prescient.
Reasonably than treating the Africa Youth Video games as a routine multi-sport outing, the Fee adopted a centered and strategic method, guaranteeing that participation was purposeful and developmental.
Improvements such because the Invited Junior Athletes (IJA) initiative have been central to this philosophy. The programme is designed to maintain excellent younger athletes engaged in structured competitors, constant coaching, and gradual publicity, with a transparent pathway to elite standing. Platforms just like the Africa Youth Video games are being maximised to speed up that course of.
In Luanda, the outcomes have been emphatic. Past publicity, medals have flowed steadily, and a brand new technology of Nigerian athletes is rising accustomed to podium finishes.
On the time of reporting on Thursday afternoon, Staff Nigeria had amassed 20 gold, eight silver, and 10 bronze medals.
Athletics laid the early basis with six gold medals, whereas desk tennis, badminton, and seashore volleyball added three extra.
Nevertheless, the largest influence has come from weightlifting, which started late resulting from logistical points however has since delivered 11 gold medals in simply two days — accounting for greater than half of Nigeria’s complete gold haul.
Importantly, Nigeria’s delegation was intentionally streamlined. Solely 54 athletes throughout 12 sports activities had been chosen, following strict due diligence to keep away from turning the Video games right into a jamboree.
That call, rooted in a long-term growth framework launched initially of the present NSC dispensation in October 2024, is now being vindicated by outcomes.
Because the Video games wind down, expectations stay excessive for extra podium finishes, reinforcing optimism about the way forward for Nigerian sports activities and the effectiveness of a grassroots-first technique.
