Sports
Birmingham 2022: AFN Explains Error On Kit
Less than 24 hours to the beginning of the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, England, some important members of Team Nigeria’s contingent to the Games are still in Oregon, United States, battling to secure entry visas to the United Kingdom.
Some of the athletes billed to represent Nigeria at the Games travelled to the United States for the just-concluded World Championships, where Nigeria’s Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume won gold and silver medals, respectively.
However, while their opponents have already relocated to England, Ese Brume and her coach, Kayode Yahaya, are still in Oregon because the coach has not been granted a British visa.
Yet to secure the documents also are five athletes, including Favour Ashe, Godson Brume and Samson Nathaniel.
The Tidesports source learnt on Wednesday, that world record breaker, Amusan and other athletes will depart Oregon today for the Commonwealth Games.
Meanwhile the Athletics Federation Nigeria (AFN) has described as unfortunate the attitude of some Nigerians, who have taken to social media to dissipate energy on the rest sprinter, Favour Ofili wore during the 4x100m relay event at the just-concluded 18th World Athletics Championships in Oregon, United States.
The letter ‘i’ was missing from the spelling of Nigeria on the vest and according to the AFN, instead of celebrating the unprecedented feats achieved by sprint hurdler, Amusan, who set a new world record en route to winning Nigeria’s first gold medal, and long jumper, Brume, who became the first Nigerian to win a medal in two straight World Championships, some people chose to deliberately paint the Federation in a bad light.
“It is really disheartening to know that a few Nigerians could shift their focus from the incredible feats our athletes performed in Oregon, which attracted commendation from President Muhammadu Buhari to a factory error made by giant sportswear and equipment company, Nike and which affected just the vest Ofili wore at the championships,” AFN Secretary General, Prince Adeniyi Adisa Beyioku, said on Wednesday.
Beyioku said the AFN was not distracted by the actions of the ‘idle few’ and has already shifted focus to the Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Also speaking on the issue, AFN’s Performance Director, Victor Okorie, explained that the wrong spelling of Nigeria on the Nike kit worn by Ofili was a factory error.
Okorie, who was Team leader in Oregon said: “Some people drew our attention to the mistake on Ofili’s kit on the final day of the 4x100m relay and I quickly reached out to Nike to know what happened. Their explanation was that it was a factory error.
“Nike said it has so much respect for Nigeria and the athletes, and there is no way it will deliberately produce a bad kit to portray Nigeria in a bad light.”
He added: “Do not forget that Nike gave Nigeria these kits free of charge for Oregon 2022 World Athletics Championship and the World U-20 Championship in Cali, Colombia.
“You can imagine how our athletes would have looked like appearing in different kits at Oregon. The AFN board really appreciated what Nike did for us. I am sure if Ofili had noticed the error, she would have pointed it out and asked for a change. Such mistakes do happen at times, and I want Nigerians to understand the situation.”
Nigerian Afrobeats star Ayodeji Balogun, popularly known as Wizkid, has expressed his satisfaction with the Super Eagles’ preparation ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier against Rwanda in Kigali.
The team, now under the leadership of newly appointed head coach Eric Chelle, held its first training session on Tuesday afternoon.
Reacting to the new squad, Wizkid took to his X handle on Wednesday, writing, “New Super Eagles team! (I) love the energy,” he wrote.
The crucial qualifier is set to take place at the Amahoro Stadium in Rwanda on Friday, March 21, with kickoff scheduled for 5 pm Nigerian time.
Following the match, Nigeria will return home to face Zimbabwe in Uyo on Tuesday.
The Super Eagles must secure maximum points from both fixtures to strengthen their chances of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria’s current squad features several in-form players, including Galatasaray’s Victor Osimhen, Atalanta’s Ademola Lookman, Genk’s Tolu Arokodare and Fulham’s Calvin Bassey.
The match against Rwanda will be Chelle’s first game in charge of the three-time African champions, who are desperate for a positive result to keep their World Cup qualification hopes alive.
The Super Eagles last played at the Amahoro Stadium in September 2024, where they were held to a goalless draw by Rwanda.
The Nationwide League One (NLO) has mandated the clubs that make up the Division One and U19 Youth League to complete their players’ facial verification process.
The Secretariat of the nation’s third-tier league regulatory body via its media department gave reasons on the essence of exercise as the March 30th players’ registration deadline draws near.
According to the NLO, clubs must complete facial verification for each player during registration to prevent duplicate registrations.
As regards players that have already been registered, the NLO explained that if a player fails verification (already registered with another club), the holding club must release the player. The NLO Admin will confirm the release and allow the verification of such a player for the new club.
The NLO stressed the importance of the release documentation and Registration Window Closure.
Releasing clubs must upload the player’s release document. This document will be reviewed and verified by the NLO Admin.
After the registration window closes, clubs cannot sign new players.
With the introduction of the new facial recognition technology, all clubs must register both their existing and new players.
These updates ensure a fair and transparent registration system. For assistance, clubs should contact NLO support.
Nigeria table tennis star, Quadri Aruna, will contest in the maiden WTT Contender Chennai in India after he was picked as a replacement for German star, Dimitrij Ovtcharov.
The WTT Contender Chennai is the fifth WTT event of the year and marks the first staging of the series in the City.
The event which has a prize purse of $270,000 will be held at the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai, India from March 25 to 30.
Aruna and nine other players have been confirmed for the men’s singles including his African rival, Egypt’s Omar Assar.3.
Other players confirmed so far include Denmark’s Jonathan Groth (17), Hugo Calderano of Brazil (6) and world number four Tomokazu Harimoto of Japan.
The 36-year-old has played in two WTT events this year.
In January, he made it as far as the semi-finals in the WTT Star Contender in Doha where he lost in straight sets to Japanese sensation Tomokazu Harimoto.
Last Wednesday, the world number 19 crashed out of the WTT Champions Chongqing 2025 after suffering a comprehensive 3-0 defeat to world number two Wang Chuqin of China in their round of 32 clash.
Aruna will hope to put up a more commanding show in India, as he has been tipped to shine by the world body.
“Stay tuned. There’s more to come from Quadri Aruna in India,” WTT captioned Aruna’s video on Monday after announcing his participation.
WTT Executive Director of Events Mounir Bessah also said the competition is a bold step forward as they expect Aruna and other players to deliver a memorable spectacle.
“Chennai’s inclusion in the WTT Series calendar underscores our mission to expand the reach of table tennis globally while honouring the sport’s passionate fanbase in India. With a venue like the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium and the support of Tamil Nadu’s government, we are ready to deliver an unforgettable spectacle for players and fans.”
