Judo: Federation Fixes January For Commonwealth Games Trials

The trials will take place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium in Lagos.

The Nigeria Judo Federation NJF, under the leadership of Musa Oshodi, has announced it will commence preparation for the XXII Commonwealth Games in January 2022.

The Commonwealth Games will take place in Birmingham, in the United Kingdom from July 28, 2022, to August 8, 2022.

Leaving nothing to chance in its bid to have Nigeria take her rightful place in contesting for medals, the board has fixed January 26th to 29th, 2022 for the national trials to raise a formidable squad for the Games.

According to a press statement issued in Lagos on Monday by the President’s media aide, Ikpo Igbinoba, the trials will take place at the Teslim Balogun Stadium, in Surulere, Lagos.

In the programme of events released by the federation, the judokas and officials are expected to arrive in Lagos on January 26th, 2022.

The trials will be held on January 27th and 28th while the 29th is for departure.

Judokas from the 36 states of the federation, the Federal Capital Territory the military, paramilitary agencies and clubs are expected to participate in the three-day event.

The judokas who excel at the trials, the press statement also stated, would be camped in a venue to be decided later by the board to begin earnest preparations for the Games.

All the weight categories (seven for men and seven for women) would be featured during the trials.

Mr Igbinoba quoted the Judo Federation president as saying that under his leadership, the NJF will always assemble the best judokas in the country for all international engagements.

According to the President: “In the current dispensation, only the very best judokas would be good enough to represent the country.

“The focus of the board is to reinvent Nigerian judo and reclaim our position on the global stage”.