World record holder in the 100m hurdles event, Tobiloba Amusan, is arguably the biggest name on the roster.

The stage is set for the 13th African Games which officially begins on Friday, 8 March, in Accra, Ghana.

As the Crème de la crème of African athletes converge on Ghana for what is fondly referred to as the continent’s version of the Olympic Games, Nigeria is ready to make its mark with a contingent of 358 athletes competing across 25 different sports.

According to the Public Relations Officer for the Nigeria Olympics Committee (NOC), Tony Nezianya, the athletes, officially accredited on Monday, will be spread across various venues in Accra, Kumasi, and Cape Coast, all vying for glory on the continental stage.

Breakdown

Leading the charge with 50 athletes, Nigeria will be looking to dominate on the track and field. World record holder in the 100m hurdles event, Tobiloba Amusan, is arguably the biggest name on the roster as she will be looking to extend her unrivalled dominance on the continent.

Ruth Usoro, Favour Ofili and Ese Brume are all also among the athletes listed to represent Nigeria in Ghana.

Though just with the prospect of only two medals, the male and female football teams boast of the country’s second-largest contingent with 20 players each.

The Flying Eagles and Falconets will be representing Nigeria.

At the last African Games in Rabat, Morocco, Nigeria won gold in the female category while settling for silver in the male football category.

Indeed football is one of the sports where Nigeria is expected to be among the strong contenders.

Also, a sizeable contingent of 32 athletes will be representing Nigeria in the hockey event.

Other sports with a significant Nigerian presence include rugby (16 athletes) badminton (12 athletes), wrestling (14 athletes), and judo (10 athletes).

Meanwhile, Nigeria will be represented by just four players in the female 3X3 basketball event.

Though this variation of basketball requires three players on the court unlike the conventional basketball game that requires five players always on the court, Nigeria is featuring an extremely slim squad with just one extra player.

The quartet in Nigeria’s extremely slim 3X3 squad are Gbihi Cynthia, Onianwa Isioma, Agba Agatha and Donanu Lawrence.

From individual events like weightlifting and swimming to team sports like volleyball and rugby, Nigeria’s diverse participation across 25 sports highlights the nation’s commitment to challenging for glory in Ghana.

With a slightly slimmer contingent of 311 athletes at the last African Games held in Rabat, Morocco in 2019, Team Nigeria finished second on the final medals table with 127 medals (46 gold, 33 silver and 48 bronze).

The Honourable Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Owan Enoh on Tuesday the 5th of March charged Nigeria’s contingent to the 13th African Games taking place in Ghana to conquer Africa.

Addressing the athletes onboard the aircraft scheduled to take them to Ghana for the tournament shortly before takeoff at the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Abuja, the Minister assured them that the entire nation was solidly behind them.

He further stated that although some of the athletes may be representing the country for the first time, the tournament affords them the opportunity to make the nation proud.

Senator Enoh urged the departing athletes to build on the strong performance of the country in the previous games by posting a strong performance that will ensure that Nigeria emerges the best in Africa.

“ Let me remind you that you carry the hopes and aspirations of the entire country. As a government, the current administration will encourage you to excel without any hindrance,” he said.

The Minister promised to promptly pay all the allowances due to the athletes, stating that no Athlete would be shortchanged.

The 12th All Africa Games took place in Rabat, Morocco in 2019 and Nigeria came second position, having won 46 gold medals, 33 silver medals and 48 bronze medals.

As competition begins at the 13th African Games in Ghana, Nigeria have won two medals in the table tennis event.

The medals arrived through table tennis stars Quadri Aruna and Offiong Edem.

In the men’s singles final, African champion Quadri Aruna faced tough competition from Egypt’s Omar Assar, ultimately settling for the silver medal after a hard-fought match that ended 3-4 in Assar’s favor.

Meanwhile, Offiong Edem secured a bronze medal in the women’s singles category, conceding to Egypt’s Dina Meshref in the semifinals with a score of 0-4.

Offiong Edem credited her impressive performance to her participation in the recent World Championships held in Korea. She expressed her gratitude to the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for their support, emphasizing how the experience gained from international competitions significantly enhanced her skills for the African Games.

Edem said, “I am so happy that we were able to attend the last World Championships in Korea and this really helped my game a lot. I want to thank the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF) for their support and I believe attending such competition really helped me personally here in Ghana”.

Reflecting on the dominance of North African countries like Egypt in table tennis, Edem highlighted the importance of consistent participation in global tournaments. She noted that Egypt’s frequent presence in such competitions gives them an edge over Nigeria, underscoring the need for increased support to elevate Nigeria’s position in African table tennis.

She added: “The Egyptians are ahead of us because they attend more competitions than us and we hope we can get more support to return to the top of the game in Africa”.

Wilfred Ndidi who had been sidelined for over two months due to injury returned to action as Leicester City retruned to winning ways in the English Championship.

The Nigerian midfielder made his long-awaited return to action as a second-half substitute in Leicester City’s 1-0 victory over Sunderland on Tuesday night.

The Nigerian midfielder had been out of action since December 29, 2023, due to a muscle problem, missing both club and country fixtures, including Nigeria’s run to the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Ndidi’s return comes as a significant boost for both Leicester City and the Super Eagles, with crucial matches on the horizon.

In the match against Sunderland, Ndidi replaced Yunus Akgun in the 72nd minute, contributing to Leicester’s victory thanks to Jamie Vardy’s first-half goal.

Manager Enzo Maresca had expressed the importance of Ndidi to Leicester’s midfield, and his return is expected to strengthen the team’s performance as they push for promotion back to the Premier League.

Prior to his injury, Ndidi had scored two goals and provided five assists in 21 appearances across all competitions for Leicester City this season.

His return marks a timely boost for both club and country, as they aim for success in their respective campaigns.

Both Leicester City and Nigeria had felt the absence of Ndidi’s energy and quality in the midfield during his two-month absence, making his return a welcome development for fans and teammates alike.

According to UK publication, The Independent, English Premier League giants, Manchester United, are preparing an offer of €110m as they hope to land Nigeria international, Victor Osimhen, during the next transfer window, 

With Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s INEOS Group taking control at Old Trafford, the Premier League giants are eyeing a massive overhauling of their squad ahead of the 2024/25 season.

United are ready to make a statement in the transfer market after reports emerged on Monday that the Devils are ahead of Paris Saint-Germain and Premier League rivals, Arsenal and Chelsea, in the race for the Napoli striker.

Per The Independent, United are ready to put in a major bid in the forthcoming summer’s transfer window.

“The Nigerian forward has 13 goals this season and helped Napoli win Serie A last time around. Osimhen is wanted by Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and a host of other top teams. He is said to have a €110m release clause in the new contract he signed in Naples recently.”

Despite missing a large chunk of the 2023/24 season due to injuries and his involvement with Nigeria at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast, the striker still boasts 14-goal involvement (11 goals and three assists) in 16 appearances in the Italian topflight league.

The 25-year-old has been in fine form for Napoli, guiding the Serie A club to their first league victory in 33 years with a league-high 26 goals in 32 Serie A games last season, and 31 goals across all competitions.

His recruitment will come as a big boost for 20-time Premier League winners United topflight league title winners who have been without a prolific striker since the departure of Dutch striker, Robin van Persie, in 2015.

Osimhen has dominated the headlines with his achievements and is one of the most sought-after strikers in Europe and it came as no surprise that United are ready to splash the cash on the former Lille forward ahead of next season.

After ending the 2022/23 season as the top scorer in Italy’s top division, the Nigerian also became the first African to achieve the feat.

He was also named the Italian Footballers’ Association Serie A Player of The Year for the 2022/23 season.

For the national team, Osimhen, after helping Nigeria qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations in Ivory Coast and finishing the qualification series as top scorer with 10 goals, the Napoli man only managed to score a goal at the competition but his involvement in the team played a major role in their journey to the final of the competition, where they lost 2-1 to the hosts in the final.

In what has been an astonishing period of his career for the Lagos-born striker, Osimhen became the first Nigerian footballer in history to be named in the Top 10 of the Ballon d’Or with an eighth-place finish.

He also became the first Nigerian, since Nwankwo Kanu in 1999, to be named African Footballer of The Year, beating Morocco’s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah to the award at the CAF awards ceremony in Marrakech last December.