The qualification deadline for the 2026 World Relays ended on Sunday, April 5, with Nigeria only managing to secure three slots out of six.

At the last World Championships in Tokyo, Nigeria failed to present a single relay team, a development that came as a big surprise to many athletics stakeholders in the country.

As it stands, Nigeria may not have a team to fight for men’s and women’s 4x100m relay medals in this year’s World Relay Athletics Championships in Tokyo, Japan, next month.

Nigeria’s hopes of fielding more relay teams at the championships now rest on the possibility of withdrawals by other nations.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), led by Tonobok Okowa, went to Gaborone, Botswana, in chase of more relay slots, but suffered mishaps in both men’s and women’s 4x100m.

While the women’s team failed to complete a baton exchange, resulting in a “Did Not Finish” result, the Nigerian men’s team fell short of the 38.73-second mark required to make the top 24 in world ranking. The team finished in 39.15 seconds.

The Guardian learnt that the team to Gaborone was led by more AFN officials, with just one coach to oversee all the relay teams.

At the meet in Gaborone, qualification opportunities were available across two days of competition. Six teams in both the mixed 4x100m and mixed 4x400m events earned tickets to Budapest, while 12 teams in each event secured places for the 2027 World Athletics Championship in Beijing, China.

United States-based AFN board member and Performance Director, Victor Okorie, told The Guardian yesterday that the National Sports Commission (NSC) did everything possible for Nigeria to grab more relay tickets in addition to the three.

“We have three relay slots,” Okorie said. “Our men’s 4x400m team is currently ranked 23 out of 24, our women’s 4x400m is ranked 22 out of 24, and our Mixed 4x100m is ranked 13 out of 24.

“About 98 per cent of our athletes are based here in the United States. I actually organised a competition at the Louisiana State University (LSU) last Friday and Saturday for our teams to get more relay tickets, but it didn’t work out. I had prepared our men’s 4×400 team, which has Ezekiel Nathaniel, Samuel Ogazi, Chidi Okezie and Edidiong Udo, the 4x100m men team with Kayinsola Ajayi, Israel Okon, Adekalu Fakorode, Caleb Joshua and Alaba Akintola, as well as our women’s team (Rosemary, Tima Godbless, Success Umukoro and Blessing Ogundare for the LSU event.

“I am very sure that if the plan had worked out, Nigeria would have defeated even Team USA. The only country I feared was Team Canada because they had been together at the LSU camp. As I said, the NSC Director General, Bukola Olopade, has actually given the AFN the support it needed, and I praise him,” Okorie stated.

However, according to SportsNow.com, on Monday, Nigeria’s only hope of an extra slot is in the mixed 4x400m, where the team is ranked 27th, which means three countries need to withdraw for Nigeria to be called up to fill vacant lanes.

The online report further stated that the men’s and women’s 4x100m teams, despite parading exciting sprinters running world-class times, are far from making the party to Tokyo, Japan next month.

It stated that the women’s squad sits 37th in the rankings, requiring more than 10 countries to withdraw to gain entry, while the men’s team is ranked 33rd.

Okorie also commended the duo of Ella Onojuvwevwo and Rosemary Chukwuma for their performance over the weekend.