Get Guardian on GoogleFormer Head coach of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Seigha Porbeni, says that Nigeria’s gold medallists at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games deserve the same financial reward given to members of the U-17 football team, the Flamingos.
President Bola Tinubu’s N100 million reward for each player of the Flamingos for winning the FIFA U-17 trophy in Morocco has been the talking point since Wednesday with many describing it as a major encouragement for other young Nigerians to embrace sports.
Porbeni, a former sprinter, jumper and hurdler, told The Guardian, yesterday, that such appreciation by President Tinubu should be extended to the three gold medallists and their coaches for making Nigeria proud in Dakar, Senegal.
The fourth Youth Olympic Games, which ended yesterday, was the first Olympic sporting event to hold on African soil. Nigeria wrapped up its outing at the competition with its best ever results, with three gold medals to surpass the country’s previous best performance at the competition since its debut.
Shortly after the national U-17 football team, the Flamingos, defeated Japan 2-1 to win the FIFA U-17 World Cup in Morocco, Team Nigeria recorded three gold medals in the athletics event at the Youth Olympics in Dakar through the efforts of Bright Gift, Rosemary Nwankwo and Praise Ugoh. Their outstanding performances delivered an unprecedented sprint double and a landmark victory in the women’s 400m.
Bright Gift made history by becoming the first Nigerian to win the men’s 100m title at the Youth Olympic Games, clocking an impressive 10.28 seconds to claim gold and set a new Games record.
Rosemary Nwankwo’s victory in the women’s 100m, completing Nigeria’s historic sprint double. Her 11.16-second performance made Nigeria the first country to win both the men’s and women’s 100m titles at the same edition of the Youth Olympic Games.
On her part, Praise Ugoh completed Nigeria’s golden campaign by winning the women’s 400m in a personal best of 52.76 seconds, becoming the first Nigerian to claim the event’s title at the Youth Olympic Games. The three victories represent a new high for Nigeria at the competition, surpassing the two gold medals won at the inaugural edition in Singapore in 2010.
Porbeni, a former Director of Sports in Delta State, told The Guardian that the athletes deserve a financial reward from the Presidency also because the Youth Olympic Games is the same as the FIFA U-17 World Cup. “Moreover, the two victories came almost simultaneously from Morocco and Dakar.
“If these Youth Olympic Games’ athletes are left out, they will feel bad in their entire sporting career. Such rewards will ginger them to put in more efforts in the build up to Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games,” Porbeni stated.
