July 30, (THEWILL) – Nigeria is ready to make the most of the 2022 Commonwealth Games, to solidify its position as a major player in international sports, politics and diplomacy, according to Sunday Dare, Minister of Youth and Sports Development.
Speaking recently about the country’s participation in the competition, the Minister stated that Nigerian athletes had a tremendous opportunity to beat the previous record set at the 2018 edition, which was hosted in Gold Coast, Australia.
Dare was bold in his assertions, saying: “If you talk about football, Nigeria is well-respected. In athletics, Nigeria is also well-respected. But we want to get the momentum back. We want to get to the top of the pack in track and field events. We’ve been to the Commonwealth before. We want to see out how we can best our record, better than what we did in 2018.
“We’ve also been very careful – we are competing in just nine sports this time, because we did some evaluations, some computations, some benchmarking and we said let’s put our best foot forward. That’s what most countries are doing.”
THEWILL recalls what during the opening ceremony of the Games in Birmingham on Thursday, Team Nigeria displayed the country’s renown for splendour, glitter, and grandeur. The athletes, led by the flagbearers Mike Edwards, Nnamdi Chinecherem Prosper, and Oluwafemiayo Folashade, looked brilliant and prepared for the challenges ahead of them in their eye-catching white and green outfits.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
