Like in different endeavours, failure to plan in sports activities equates to planning to fail. Nigeria’s woeful outings on the Paris Olympic Video games, and the 2024 World U-20 Athletics Championships, in Lima, Peru, succinctly seize the ugly state of affairs within the sports activities sector. GOWON AKPODONOR writes that poor planning, grueling journey plans, and late launch of funds for main meets are key in denying the nation podium finishes.
Calendars for main worldwide competitions are launched years earlier than such championships. This growth is to allow groups and international locations put together for such competitions and make hitch-free and tidy logistics from side to side competitors venues.
In planning for competitions abroad, groups are anticipated to familiarise themselves with the peculiar immigration processes of the host nation, the frequency and availability of flights to such venues, and to have a good data of a sustainable finances to take part efficiently in such competitions.
Through the years, Nigeria has left many the world over questioning the way it intends to leverage its younger inhabitants to make sure podium finishes in worldwide sports activities meets when all it does is carry on failing fundamental preparatory and planning assessments, together with finishing up well timed logistics/journey for nationwide groups.
As an illustration, findings by The Guardian revealed that the journey to the 2024 World U-20 Athletics Championships in Lima, Peru, was probably the most hectic for athletes who’ve been representing the nation.
In line with one of many athletes, who pleaded anonymity, the Nigerian flag bearers acquired their journey data on the eve of their departure, a growth, which compelled them to make frantic, last-minute efforts to achieve Abuja on time from numerous elements of the nation.
“We began our journey at 9.00 p.m. on Friday, August 23 in Abuja, and arrived in Istanbul, Turkey at 05.25 a.m. on Saturday, August 24. Then, at 09.40 a.m. on Saturday, we left Istanbul for Bogota, Colombia. It was a 13-hour, 25-minute flight. We obtained to Botoga by 3.05 p.m. on Saturday, and at 4.35 p.m., we left Bogota for Panama Metropolis.
“We arrived at 6.10 p.m. That very same day (Saturday), we left Panama Metropolis at 9.35 p.m. for Lima, Peru. We arrived at 01.10 a.m. on Sunday, August 25. By the point we picked up our baggage and left the airport for our lodge, athletes from different international locations that had been jetlagged had shaken that off, had been nicely rested, and had been already in fine condition ready for competitors to start, whereas we had been nonetheless transiting from one airport to the opposite. I imagine if we had began such a protracted journey earlier on, arrived in Peru in time, and rested nicely forward of our competitors, the outcomes might have been higher. We already seemed defeated even earlier than the occasions started nearly instantly,” the athlete mentioned.
The Guardian learnt that after the competitors ended on August thirty first, the Nigerian workforce was compelled to maneuver out of the World Athletics lodge and located cheaper lodging in Lima for 3 days earlier than embarking on the return journey.
“On the finish of the competitors, we began our journey again house on Tuesday, September 3 from Lima at 1.30 p.m., and obtained to Panama Metropolis at 5.15 p.m. From there, we began one other journey, which lasted for 12 hours and 50 minutes. We arrived in Istanbul at 4.40 p.m. the next day (Wednesday). In Istanbul, we slept on a naked ground until 2.10 p.m. the next day (Thursday, September 5) for our flight to Lagos. Nothing like allowance was given to us,” the athlete alleged.
Barely three weeks in the past, the nation’s males’s junior basketball nationwide workforce, the J’Tigers, additionally went by way of hell to acquire visas on the South African Embassy to attend the AfroBasket U-18 Championship, which occurred in Pretoria.
The South African Consulate in Abuja initially denied their visa functions, and it took the intervention of the organisers of the competitors, and the federal authorities earlier than the visas had been issued to the workforce on the eve of the championship.
Consequently, the workforce arrived on the competitors venue on the day of their opening recreation and had lower than 4 hours to shake off jetlag and prepare for his or her recreation towards Egypt. They misplaced that recreation however secured an important 70-65 win towards Angola of their second recreation. The workforce thereafter earned a hard-won 71-61 victory over Uganda.
That however, the boy’s workforce obtained knocked out within the quarterfinals by Mali, whereas their better-rested ladies counterparts certified for the U-18 World Championships.
What present-day athletes are contending with is at variant with the lot of yesteryears athletes.
A former nationwide basketball workforce star, who pleaded anonymity, whereas talking on the current hurdles that Nigerian athletes face within the means of representing the nation mentioned that there have been too many tales the place sports activities officers use athletes as springboards for his or her elevation, “dumping them like rags in some unspecified time in the future; by no means defending them; by no means giving them a good listening to, and the good thing about the doubt every time they get into hassle in Nigeria’s local weather of poor programs, poor infrastructure, poor establishments and poor practices”.
“In sports activities, some officers begin to compete with the athletes for house within the limelight, and within the climb up the ladder of fame and fortune. Officers who’re appointed to service and supervise athletes turn out to be gods who should be feared, obeyed, and revered. That’s the reason, usually, athletes and directors infrequently take pleasure in an excellent and clear relationship,” he mentioned.
In line with a retired weightlifter, Emmanuel Oshomah, who competed world wide representing Nigeria on the Los Angeles ‘84 Olympics in California, USA; the World Weightlifting Championships in Sweden, in 1985 and the 1987 All African Video games in Nairobi, Kenya, one of many issues athletes loved most up to now was the immediate consideration given their journey preparations by officers of the Sports activities Ministry.
“The historical past of Nigerian sports activities has been very attention-grabbing till we began appointing ‘spectators’ as managers,” Oshomah, who’s now the proprietor of a weightlifting Academy, often known as Oshobugie in Auchi, Edo State, informed The Guardian.
“Within the days after we had the likes of Dr Awoture Eleyae, Dr Isaac Akioye, on the Nationwide Sports activities Fee, with Pa Raheem Adejumo and Abraham Odia on the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC), athletes had been very proud to put on the nation’s color at worldwide sporting occasions. And we had been extremely revered then,” he mentioned, including that every little thing athletes wanted to compete nicely and win medals at worldwide occasions, together with their journey plans had been labored out dutifully even with out athletes realizing the officers in cost.
“In our preparation for the Seventh African Video games in Nairobi, Kenya in 1987, we had Wing Commander Olukpitan (late) as our Camp Commandant, and we spent six months in camp, together with a coaching tour of Europe. The late Osaigbovo Ogbemudia was our Chef de Mission, whereas Bayo Lawal was the Sports activities Minister then. We gained a number of medals on the Video games.
“At the same time as we spent six months in Camp in the direction of the Los Angeles 1984 Olympics, which some folks thought-about to be too brief a time for preparation and perfection earlier than an Olympics, we additionally did very nicely. Then, we had Brigadier Sho-Silver as Chairman of the Navy Activity Pressure, whereas Mahmood Maharaja (each late) served because the Secretary.
“At the moment, all medical medical doctors within the Nationwide Sports activities Fee studied sports activities drugs. One vital side of our journeys then was that the Protocol division of the sports activities ministry often briefed us on journeys earlier than the takeoff date.
“Then, we had one Ibusa man referred to as Mr Chris. He was glorious in travelling preparations. I nonetheless bear in mind what occurred after we had been making ready for a championship in Western Samoa. The association then was {that a} 1985-passenger Air Pressure jet would fly us to Western Samoa for the championship, and it could take 4 days for us to get to the competitors venue. However it was modified and we obtained there nicely forward of time. These had been the times after we had accountable and dedicated sports activities directors on the helm of affairs.”
He mentioned that subjecting athletes to grueling journeys with many stopovers and lengthy, tiring airport transfers has main results on affected athletes throughout competitions as a result of the athletes endure from jet lag. This coupled with a poor restoration time impacts athletes’ efficiency negatively.
“That’s the reason, generally, these of us who handed by way of the system when the going was good will not be fast in charge athletes as of late once they fail to carry out nicely at worldwide competitions. We have a look at numerous elements, particularly the workforce’s journey plans earlier than we crucify athletes anytime they fail,” Oshomah mentioned.
To the Proprietor of Cable Sports activities Academy, Edwin Onovwotafe, Nigerian athletes’ journey to the 2024 World U20 Athletics Championship in Peru uncovered the dearth of organisation and planning by officers of the Federal Ministry of Sports activities particularly, and the nation’s sports activities directors basically.
“Even earlier than Staff Nigeria started their coaching tour in Germany for the Paris Olympics, we knew that the athletes and officers to the U-20 Athletics Championships in Peru can be required to get their visas in Ghana. We additionally knew that the journey to Peru would require the athletes to undergo some international locations.
“How the athletes ended up having such problematic flight preparations is what I can’t perceive. Does it imply that the sports activities ministry not has a division that’s chargeable for athletes’ journey plans?” he queried.
Onovwotafe added: “The Sports activities Minister, John Enoh can’t oversee every little thing, however I anticipate him to wield the large stick every time these saddled with vital nationwide assignments fail to deal with their jobs diligently. The Federal Authorities spent some huge cash, and so, we (Nigerians) anticipate good outcomes from the athletes every time they characterize us at worldwide championships.
“In 2021, this identical U-20 Athletics workforce completed third total on the World Championships in Nairobi, Kenya. After that, we did not win a single medal in Cali, Colombia, and now in Lima, Peru as a consequence of poor planning and poor journey plans. It has to cease,” Onovwotafe, a product of the Nationwide Institute for Sports activities, (NIS) in Lagos, mentioned.
A former Commonwealth and African desk tennis champion, Atanda Musa, blames the intrusion of politicians into sports activities for the shoddy method the nation’s contingents to main worldwide competitions are handled.
He mentioned: “Once we had the army answerable for sports activities, the sector labored easily as a result of they had been devoted to excellence in sports activities. They made positive that athletes had been handled correctly and did every little thing attainable to make sure that athletes had been all the time in good situation.
“However politicians have spoilt every little thing. We’d like individuals who know what it takes to compete in worldwide competitions. They deliberate for every little thing and didn’t go away something to probability.
“So, each federation should have a logistics division that takes care of issues like flights, lodging, and communication with host international locations/embassies to make sure easy motion of our athletes to competitions,” Musa emphasised.
