Former president of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Dan Ngerem has called for a better welfare package for Nigerian athletes. Ngerem while celebrating the golden feat of Tobi Amusan at the just concluded World Athletics Championship in Oregon, USA said that is the only way the country would not wait for another two decades or more to produce another Amusan. Ngerem who spoke on Channels News @ 10 said poor planning informed why the country had to wait for 25 years to see another Chioma Ajunwa in Tobi Amusan and Ese Brume who are today world beaters. “My appeal is that the incumbent sports minister, Sunday Dare should put in place policies that would see us consolidating on the gains of Amusan’s feat. We need to prioritize the welfare of athletes so that we don’t wait for another 25 years to see this happen. If we had a good policy in place we would not have lost the like of Obikwelu and Gloria Alozie to other countries,” Ngerem said. It would be noted that Nigeria finished 13th on the overall medal placement, and third best placed country from Africa at the World Athletics Championship. Team Nigeria picked up a valuable Gold in the 100m Hurdles event, with winner Tobi Amusan smashing the World Record in the process. Also Olympic Bronze medalist, Ese Brume picked up a silver medal in the Long Jump event, improving on her Bronze at the last Olympics and last World Athletics Championship in Doha. For the African representatives, Nigeria finished in the top three, behind Kenya and Ethiopia with Uganda finishing in fourth place.
2022 World Athletics Championships: Amusan’s feat a new dawn for Nigerian athletics, says Sunday Dare
Tobi Amusan’s golden feat and that of Ese Brume at the just concluded World Athletics Championship in Oregon, USA has been described as a new dawn for Nigerian athletics by Sports minister, Sunday Dare. Reacting to Nigeria’s late rally for medals in Oregon and the country’s best performance ever at the Championships, Sports Minister Sunday Dare said these heartwarming feats will herald a new dawn for Nigerian athletics. “I am so proud of what Tobi Amusan, Ese Brume and even those who didn’t get on the podium have achieved in Eugene, Oregon. This is the beginning of great things for Nigerian athletics. This is a new dawn. “Years of hard work and consistently knocking on the door has yielded the right dividends. For the first time in our history we have a World Champion. This is huge. Congratulations to Nigeria.” The Minister also highlighted a few other positive results for Team Nigeria even though they did not end in podium finishes. “For me, these medals are not the only positives from the World Championships. The 4×100m relay teams (men and women) showed a lot of promise for the future. “The women barely got here as the 16th best team in the world but they got so close to getting on the podium, the men also gave it their best shot and showed they have a bright future. “Our athletes in the short sprints also showed character. Some of them are competing on a high level stage like this for the first time, rubbing shoulders with very experienced and tournament tested veterans and legends and not falling too far behind in extremely tough situations. “They can beat their chests and be proud of what they have achieved. We now have the responsibility to continue to support them by creating the right environment for their growth.” With the World Championships now over, focus now shifts to the Commonwealth Games which started on Thursday in Birmingham, United Kingdom. “We have gained a great momentum going into the Commonwealth Games now, this will definitely inspire Team Nigeria to making a huge impact in Birmingham,” Dare concluded.
Overhaul Falcons ahead of World Cup -Edeh
Proprietor of Naija Ratels FC of Abuja, Barrister Paul Edeh has called for the overhauling of the Super Falcons ahead of the World Cup next year in Australia. Edeh who spoke over the weekend noted that the team’s technical crew had nothing to offer. Edeh said he wasn’t expecting much from the team in Morocco insisting that the Randy Waldrum led technical crew has to take the blame. “For me, ahead of the World Cup in Australia, the technical crew first and foremost needs to be overhauled. We need to inject new players into the team and bring in people who are ready to give opportunities to our players who are based at home. There are many fresh talents at home who are ready to dazzle when given the opportunity.” The Super Falcons for the first time in the history of WAFCON failed to win a medal after losing to hosts Morocco in the semifinal. The team returned to the country mid last week from Morocco.