AFN set for post Paris Olympics Congress, picks June 2025 for elections

The Board of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) have concluded arrangements to hold its first post Paris 2024 Olympic Games Congress this month.

The AFN had the highest number of athletes in Nigeria’s 88-man contingent to the Paris Olympics. Although Team Nigeria failed to win a single medal at the Games, the federation returned with some positives. These include the performance of U.S.-based sprinter, Favour Ofili, who made history as the first Nigerian woman to reach the 200m final since Mary Onyali at Atlanta 1996 Games.`

Also, quartermiler, Samuel Ogazi, also became the first Nigerian man to reach the 400m final since Seoul 1988 Olympics, as he set a new lifetime best of 44.41 seconds in the semifinal in Paris. And for the first time in history of Nigeria’s participation at the Olympics, three Nigerian women jumpers, Ese Brume, Ruth Usoro and Prestina Ochonogor, made the final. Shot Putter, Chukwuebuka Enekwechi finished sixth in his event final, just as the men’s 4x400m relay team also made history by hitting the final for the first time in many years, although they were disqualified for lane violation.

In all, Nigeria had six finalists in track and field alone at the Paris Olympics as against four at Tokyo 2020 and two at Rio 2016.

The Guardian learnt, yesterday, that majority of the board members, led by Tonobok Okowa, had already fixed November 30, 2024 for the Congress, where some of the issues that affected the athletes at the Paris Games would be addressed.

“We are looking at November 30 as date for the Congress,” one AFN board member told The Guardian. “We are still putting heads together on where (venue) to hold the Congress, but if by next week we are unable to get a suitable place, we might plead with our president (Okowa) to host the congress anywhere in Delta State.

“There are many issues we need to trash out, particularly, some of the issues that affected our athletes at the Paris Olympics and how to avoid a repeat, as we look forward to Los Angeles 2028 Olympics.

“We still have to deliberate on some other issues like sponsorship drive for our various programmes because we don’t expect the government alone to provide everything for all the sporting federations. I have been told that our marketing committee is working on a new title sponsor to replace or complement the former one.

“Perhaps, apart from football in Nigeria, athletics is the next biggest sports, and I don’t see any difficulties in getting a title sponsor for our programmes. This present AFN board has been very transparent as far as issues concerning funds are concerned, though there are some bad elements within who feel everything should come to them,” the board member said.

On the date for next AFN election, the board member said. “I don’t know why some people are talking about next board election when we still have about eight months to go. This board came into existence in June 2021, when we held our election in Abuja. So, our next Board election will take place in June 2025.”