NSC urges stars to be worthy ambassadors

Nigeria will be represented by 19 athletes, made up of 12 boys and seven girls, at the fourth Summer Youth Olympic Games, which will begin on October 31 in Dakar, Senegal. It is the first time an Olympic sporting event will be hosted on African soil.

Team Nigeria, which is expected to depart Abuja today, will compete across six sports: athletics, boxing, road cycling, swimming, table tennis and beach volleyball.

The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics will run until November 13, and is expected to draw a large crowd of over 2,700 athletes from various countries across the globe.

Nigerian athletes and their officials had their last preparatory outing in Abuja yesterday, a day after the National Sports Commission (NSC) officially handed the team over to the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC).

The Games will take place across three host zones, Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly in Senegal.

Track and field (Athletics) will account for Nigeria’s largest contingent with nine athletes, comprising five girls and four boys, just as the country will be represented by four swimmers (two girls and two boys). Table tennis will have two representatives (a boy and a girl), while Nigeria will also field one female boxer, one female road cyclist and a two-athlete women’s beach volleyball team.

To give the young athletes the preparation they need to excel in Dakar, the NSC gave them a 21-day local camping programme that commenced on October 9. It will be concluded today, October 29.

The programme included medical screening, anti-doping education, technical and tactical training, kit fitting, travel documentation and final team preparations ahead of departure.

The opening ceremony will be held on October 31 at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, with competitions in table tennis and beach volleyball beginning on the same day.

NSC’s Director General, Bukola Olopade, said the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games provide an important platform for Nigeria’s emerging athletes to gain valuable international exposure, compete against some of the best young talents in the world and build experience towards future senior-level competitions, including the Olympic Games.

He urged the Nigerian contingent to make the country proud in Dakar and translate months of preparation into impressive performances on the continental and global stage.

Olopade, who spoke while handing the contingent over to the NOC at a send-forth in Abuja, charged the young athletes and their officials to be worthy ambassadors in Senegal, urging them to compete with pride, dignity and patriotism at the Games.

He called on the athletes to make the best use of the opportunity the country has given to them to represent Nigeria at the first-ever Youth Olympic Games holding in Africa and motivate them to dream big ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games.