Sports
Paris 2024 Olympics: Minister Apologises For Nigeria’s Poor Outing
By Adedapo Adesanya
Nigeria’s Minister of Sports Development, Mr John Enoh, has apologised to Nigerians over the country’s poor outing at the just-concluded 2024 Paris Olympic Games.
Nigeria finished the competition without a medal, a feat that was last recorded in the 2012 edition of the global sporting event in London.
The country’s poor performance this year sparked outrage from citizens amid complaints from athletes of bad preparations and lack of facilities to compete properly despite President Bola Tinubu approving N12 billion for the Olympics and the Paralympics.
In a statement on Sunday, Mr Enoh said the team had fallen short of expectations.
“The Olympic Games, Paris 2024, have ended, and I accept that our performance should have been a lot better. It obviously fell short of our objectives, expectations, and hopes of Nigerians. I must apologize to our compatriots and reflect on what went wrong while looking forward to the Paralympic Games, Paris 2024 (August 28 – September 8th).
“When I assumed office as the Minister of Sports Development in August 2023, I was confronted with the task of executing four international competitions namely the AFCON, the African Games,the Olympic and Paralympic Games in a matter of a few months. I was also reminded that the Olympic Games is the world’s supreme sports competition, and countries require at least four years to prepare for it. I held extensive discussions with the management staff of the Ministry and got to know that preparations for the Olympics, which was less than a year away, had not started.
“In the true Nigerian spirit, it was our view that we should spare no effort to sustain the international sports image of our country. Our target was to re-enact the Atlanta 1996 performance or even improve on it.
“To this end, we embarked on a progressive approach to drive forward the performance of our athletes and coaches. In my first week in office, I requested all National Sports Federations to furnish me with plans and programmes. I also embarked on a nationwide inspection of our sports facilities.
“Subsequently, I constituted a Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee comprising seasoned sports performance professionals to drive our preparations. At this time, we had hardly qualified for the Olympics in any sport.
“We focused on both the AFCON and the African Games (both of which were happening in quick succession)while our athletes also participated in Olympic and Paralympic qualification tournaments. This had the disadvantage of compelling the athletes to attain peak performances several times within a short space of time.
“I was also enlightened that athletes of many countries had qualified almost one year ago and had already structured their training programmes for the Olympics. We were not deterred.
“I convened a series of meetings involving the Presidents of the National Sports Federations, their Technical Directors, and Secretaries General. These meetings examined the preparations for the competitions.
“The Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee was in attendance to discuss and streamline methodologies and training methods in the best possible way, considering the time constraints.
“After the African Games, subsequent meetings were limited to the Federations that had bright chances of qualifying for the Olympics. Medals projections were made by all the Federations, although their athletes were still trying to qualify;which lasted until about June 2024. The concerned Federations obviously prioritized qualification over preparations for the Games. This seems to have always been the case. This has to change.
“At the end of the qualification period, the selection of athletes and coaches was the absolute responsibility of each Federation. A few attempts to question selection after I got complaints were strongly resisted and defended.
“To achieve our targets, we approved onshore training in different locations in the country in addition to the offshore training camps for our teams in Saarbrucken, Germany, and Sevilla, Spain. Ten out of the eleven sports trained in Germany.
“The choice of the training facilities in Germany was based on the very positive recommendations of the Ministry team and included the President of one of our Federations who as a former world champion and Olympic gold medal winner, is quite familiar with Olympic-standard facilities and equipment.
“At the training camp, the Ministerial Podium Performance Advisory Committee offered scientific preparation and mental strength training support. The very high quality of their participation was confirmed by independent sources comprising athletes, coaches, and team administrators.
“In all these, the President and Commander in Chief of the Federation, HE Bola Ahmed Tinubu, ensured that funds were not a limiting factor. Athletes’ competition requirements were provided, allowances were paid early, and training grants were disbursed to all athletes.I made myself readily available to deal with any issue throughout the competition. Therefore, the underwhelming performance of our team is puzzling. We owe Nigerians an explanation.
“As a responsible organisation, we have swung into a review process. We shall evaluate the competition readiness of every athlete comprehensively, including their injury and medical history within the limits of patient confidentiality. The role of coaches and administrative staff will also be examined.
“There must be a lot of lessons to learn from our performance and improvements must be made in all ramifications. The last time we returned from the Olympics without a medal was in 2012.The next two Olympics after that we’ve had a bronze medal in 2016 and a silver and bronze in the 2020 Olympics. As a country, we deserve more. Let’s turn the disastrous outcome of the 2024 Olympics to a huge positive for Nigerian sports,” the apology letter read.
Nigeria’s Super Falcons will look to secure their place in the quarter-finals when they face Egypt in their final Group C match on Wednesday at 9:00 pm at the ongoing WAFCON 2026 in Morocco.
The defending champions bounced back from their disappointing 3-2 defeat to Malawi with a crucial 1-0 victory over Zambia and will now be aiming to finish the group stage strongly. All the matches of the tournament air live on SuperSport via DStv and GOtv.
The final matchday of Group A saw hosts Morocco play out a goalless draw with Senegal, a result that was enough to send Morocco through to the quarter-finals in first position in their group. Algeria also secured their place in the knockout stages after a 2-0 victory over Kenya, bringing their group-stage campaign to a strong close.
Tuesday, Group B will conclude with Burkina Faso facing South Africa before Tanzania takes on Ivory Coast. South Africa and Ivory Coast played out a 2-2 draw in their previous match, while Burkina Faso bounced back from their opening defeat with a 2-1 victory over Tanzania. With the group still to be decided, the final results will determine which teams join the quarter-final line-up.
All eyes will then turn to Group C on Wednesday, where Egypt will face Nigeria, and Malawi will take on Zambia, with both matches kicking off at 9:00 pm. The Super Falcons will be hoping to build on their victory over Zambia and secure the result they need to advance to the knockout stages, while Egypt will be looking to end their campaign on a positive note after suffering a 3-1 defeat to Malawi in their previous game.
Nigeria’s final group match comes after a difficult start to their title defence. The Super Falcons were stunned 3-2 by Malawi in their opening game but responded with a 1-0 victory over Zambia to revive their campaign. The ten-time champions will now need to complete the job against Egypt as they look to keep their hopes of retaining the continental crown alive.
The final group-stage fixtures on Thursday will see Ghana take on Mali, and Cape Verde face Cameroon on Thursday, with both matches also scheduled for 9:00 pm. Ghana suffered a 1-0 defeat to Cameroon in their previous outing, while Mali secured a 3-2 victory over Cape Verde. The final results will determine which teams progress to the knockout stages from Group D.
Matchday 3 Fixtures
Tuesday, August 4
Burkina Faso vs South Africa – 9:00 pm
Tanzania vs Ivory Coast – 9:00 pm
Wednesday, August 5
Egypt vs Nigeria – 9:00 pm
Malawi vs Zambia – 9:00 pm
Thursday, August 6
Cape Verde vs Cameroon – 9:00 pm
Mali vs Ghana – 9:00 pm
SuperSport Brings All the Live Action
Catch every match of WAFCON Morocco 2026 live on SS Football (Ch. 202, GOtv Ch. 61) and SS Football Plus (DStv Ch. 202) on DStv and GOtv. Fans can also stream every match live on DStv Stream from ₦6,000, with no decoder or dish required.
By Aduragbemi Omiyale
At least for the next four seasons, DStv and GOtv subscribers are guaranteed access to all UEFA men’s club matches on SuperSport.
This is because CANAL+, the parent company of MultiChoice, which owns DStv and GOtv, has secured the exclusive broadcast rights to all UEFA men’s club competitions across Sub-Saharan Africa through 2031, ensuring SuperSport will continue to broadcast the UEFA Champions, Europa and Conference Leagues live to DStv and GOtv subscribers.
The four-season agreement, which begins with the 2027/28 campaign, covers more than 40 countries across the region and includes exclusive rights to the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
In English- and Portuguese-speaking Africa, SuperSport will continue as the exclusive broadcaster of UEFA club competitions, bringing the continent’s biggest European club matches to DStv and GOtv subscribers. The agreement also restores full UEFA Champions League coverage on CANAL+ Sport channels in French-speaking Africa, alongside the UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League.
The rights deal further strengthens CANAL+’s sports portfolio, which already includes major football competitions such as the Premier League, LALIGA EA SPORTS, Ligue 1, the Betway Premiership and the ongoing TotalEnergies CAF Women’s Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026.
The agreement ensures football fans across Sub-Saharan Africa will continue to enjoy live coverage of Europe’s premier club competitions on SuperSport when the new rights cycle begins in 2027.
“We are very proud of this new partnership, which gives us exclusive rights to all UEFA Men’s Club competitions across more than 40 countries in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“For four seasons, until 2031, our subscribers will enjoy the thrill of the UEFA Champions League, UEFA Europa League and UEFA Conference League’s biggest matches. Today, CANAL+ offers the most attractive sports line-up across Sub-Saharan Africa, and the acquisition of these rights is a perfect illustration of that.
“We would like to extend our sincere thanks to UC3 and to the teams at Relevent for once again placing their trust in CANAL+, following our recent agreements in France, Switzerland, Belgium, Poland and Austria,” the chief executive of CANAL+, Mr Maxime Saada, stated.
The start of a football season always tricks people a little. Everything looks fresh. New shirts, new signings, clean tables, confident managers, fans talking themselves into hope again. Then the first few matches arrive, and half the predictions start wobbling. That is what makes early-season betting interesting. It is not tidy yet. Manchester City may still be Manchester City, but that does not mean they are sharp from the first whistle. Arsenal might look strong on paper and still need time to settle. Chelsea can have another summer full of noise and still leave bettors guessing. Real Madrid might have the stars, but even stars need minutes together. The first weeks are not about certainty. They are about spotting who is ready before the market fully catches up.
New Signings Need Time
Transfer excitement can make people rush. A new striker arrives at Arsenal and suddenly every goals market feels tempting. Manchester United sign a defender and people start talking about clean sheets. Chelsea add another expensive player and the same old question comes back: does this actually fix the team, or just add another name? Sometimes a signing changes everything quickly. More often, there is an awkward stage first. A forward needs to learn where the passes come from. A midfielder needs to understand the press. A centre-back needs to build trust with the goalkeeper and full-backs. That is why early-season betting after the Betway app download should not treat a new signing like a finished answer. The name matters, but the fit matters more.
World Cup Legs Will Matter
This season also carries the weight of the World Cup. Some players will come back flying. Some will come back flat. Some may start the season with managed minutes because their clubs cannot afford to burn them out early. That can change player markets fast. A bettor looking through the betway app before a weekend card should not only check the famous names in the lineup. Look at who played deep into the World Cup, who missed pre-season, who came back late, and who is being protected by the manager. A star on the pitch is not always a star at full speed.
Early Tables Can Lie
The first league table always looks more dramatic than it is. One big club drops points, and everyone starts asking if there is a crisis. One promoted side wins at home, and suddenly people talk about momentum. A striker scores twice, and the golden boot conversations begin before anyone has really learned anything. That noise can be useful, but only if bettors do not get swallowed by it. Early results need context. Did the team actually play well, or just finish two chances? Did they control the game, or survive pressure? Was the opponent missing key players? Did the manager rotate because of fitness?
Patience Beats The Big Prediction
The new season will settle. The strong teams will usually rise, the weaker squads will get exposed, and the table will start to make more sense. But the opening weeks are different. They are full of strange fitness levels, overhyped signings, tired stars and teams that are still trying to remember what they are meant to be. That is why betting on the upcoming season should start slowly. Do not fall in love with last season’s form. Do not trust every transfer story. Do not assume every World Cup star is ready to carry club football straight away. The value is often hiding in the messy part, before everyone else agrees what the season really looks like.
