Nigeria’s Olympic Team had no government support -Athlete Olatoye

Nigerian shotput athlete, Sade Olatoye, has revealed that she and her fellow athletes received no financial support from President Bola Tinubu’s administration during their preparations for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

This disclosure comes after the government expressed disappointment at Nigeria’s poor performance at the Olympics, labelling it a “disaster”.

Nigeria failed to win any medal at the Olympics.

The team’s underwhelming performance also sparked widespread criticism from Nigerians, who are holding the government accountable for the failure, citing lack of adequate support as a major factor.

The country’s disappointment with the Olympic performance is compounded by the perceived lack of government support for the team.

Olatoye revealed in an interview with that the team had to self-fund their entire journey, including training, coaching, medical expenses, and competition fees.

Olatoye noted that it wasn’t until they reached the championship stage that they were informed about potential grants, which only covered a mere 2% of their total expenses accumulated over four years of training.

She said, “Pretty much every year, me and my teammates, everything is out of pocket. We pay for our own training, coaches, medical, competition, so everything is out of pocket.

“It is not until we get to the championship that we start hearing about potential grants. I have been training for four years, being given the grant at the competition which doesn’t pay for 2% of what I pay out of my pocket for four years of training.”

Nigeria’s performance at the 2024 Paris Olympics was disappointing, as the team failed to win a single medal.

Despite having a large contingent of 88 athletes across 12 sports, the team’s performance was lackluster, with many athletes failing to meet expectations.

Some of the reasons cited for this poor performance include poor planning, incompetence, and negligence.

The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has been particularly criticized for its failure to submit Favour Ofili’s name, one of the country’s medal hopefuls, to the International Olympic Committee.

Nigeria’s performance at the Olympics has been declining in recent years, with the team securing only two medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

This decline has been attributed to the country’s underinvestment in sports, particularly in disciplines that require significant infrastructure, training, and support.

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