From continental soccer glory to Paralympic information, Nigerian sports activities witnessed dramatic peaks and valleys in 2024, with athletes breaking information and setting new benchmarks whilst some performances fell in need of expectations, writes ABIODUN ADEWALE and PETER AKINBO
HIGHS
King Lookman guidelines African soccer
When Ademola Lookman was topped the 2024 CAF African Footballer of The 12 months in Marrakech, Morocco, it wasn’t simply one other award ceremony – it was the end result of a meteoric rise that noticed the 27-year-old etch his identify alongside Nigeria’s soccer greats.
The Atalanta ahead’s triumph made him the seventh Nigerian to win the distinguished award, following Victor Osimhen’s victory in 2023. His outstanding yr included three objectives and two assists as Nigeria reached their eighth Africa Cup of Nations ultimate in February, whereas his historic hat-trick secured the UEFA Europa League for Atalanta towards Bayer Leverkusen in Could – turning into the primary African to attain a treble in a serious European ultimate.
For his Europa League ultimate exploits, the 26-year-old earned a uncommon 10 ranking from L’Equipe – solely the 18th handed out by the French publication, a ranking Portuguese legend and five-time Ballon d’Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo has by no means gained. His exploits have carried into the continued 2024/25 season, the place he continues to encourage Atalanta, scoring 12 objectives and offering 5 assists throughout all competitions.
Nnadozie’s back-to-back triumphs
Tremendous Falcons goalkeeper Chiamaka Nnadozie retained her CAF Ladies’s Goalkeeper of the 12 months crown in 2024, solidifying her repute as one of many most interesting shot-stoppers in world soccer. The Paris FC star’s phenomenal yr noticed her ship constant, match-winning performances for each membership and nation.
Nnadozie performed a pivotal function in Nigeria’s spectacular marketing campaign on the 2024 Ladies’s Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers and was instrumental in Paris FC’s historic run within the UEFA Ladies’s Champions League, the place her heroics in penalty shootouts earned international acclaim.
Victories in Europe
Nigerian footballers dominated European soccer in 2024, with unprecedented success throughout a number of leagues. Victor Boniface and Nathan Tella performed pivotal roles in Bayer Leverkusen’s historic 2023/24 season, because the German membership’s 120-year anticipate a Bundesliga title led to spectacular vogue with an unbeaten league marketing campaign and DFB Pokal victory for his or her first home double.
Boniface’s impression was fast and decisive following his summer time arrival. Regardless of a four-month damage layoff, the striker’s 14 objectives and eight assists in 23 Bundesliga appearances helped propel Leverkusen to their maiden league title. His general contribution of 21 objectives and 10 assists throughout all competitions earned him the Bundesliga Rookie of The Season award.
In Greece, William Troost-Ekong, contemporary from his AFCON MVP heroics, returned from damage to assist PAOK clinch the Greek Tremendous League title. Peter Olayinka secured a home double with Pink Star Belgrade, scoring twice in a 4-1 win over Cukaricki to seal their thirty fifth Serbian League title earlier than profitable the Serbian Cup with a 2-1 victory over Vojvodina.
Raphael Onyedika was instrumental in Membership Brugge’s Belgian League triumph, making 29 appearances and scoring three essential objectives, together with a brace towards Anderlecht in a 3-1 playoff victory that set them on track for his or her nineteenth title. They clinched the championship with 50 factors, only one forward of Royal Union SG.
In England, Wilfred Ndidi and Kelechi Iheanacho powered Leicester Metropolis to a file eighth Championship title. Ndidi contributed 5 objectives and 5 assists, whereas Iheanacho added 5 objectives regardless of restricted enjoying time. Former Nigeria youth worldwide Abdul Ajagun additionally tasted success, profitable the Jordanian League with Al-Hussein Sports activities Membership.
In girls’s soccer, Christy Ucheibe achieved an unprecedented quadruple with Benfica, profitable the Portuguese league (Liga BPI), Taca de Portugal Feminina, Taca de Liga Feminina, and the Tremendous Taca de Portugal Feminina.
Eagles’ AFCON journey
Nigeria’s path to the 2023 AFCON ultimate showcased their resilience and tactical evolution. After a shaky 1-1 draw towards Equatorial Guinea, the Tremendous Eagles discovered their rhythm with 1-0 victories over Ivory Coast and Guinea-Bissau within the group stage.
The knockout levels noticed them remove Cameroon with Ademola Lookman scoring twice in a 2-0 victory. A disciplined 1-0 win over Angola adopted within the quarter-finals earlier than a dramatic penalty shootout victory over South Africa despatched them to the ultimate.
William Troost-Ekong’s objective towards Ivory Coast within the ultimate wasn’t sufficient because the hosts claimed a 2-1 victory, however the Eagles’ marketing campaign, which noticed them concede simply three objectives in seven matches, highlighted their defensive solidity and confirmed a spark of issues to return below the proper tutelage.
Oshoba makes historical past
Elizabeth Oshoba’s rise from humble beginnings in Tigbo-Ilu, Ogun State, to turning into Nigeria’s first feminine boxing world champion is nothing in need of extraordinary. Her dedication paid off spectacularly in 2024, claiming the IBO feminine super-featherweight title with a masterful unanimous choice victory over Italy’s Martina Righi in November 2023.
Her January efficiency really introduced her arrival on the world stage. Dealing with Italian Michela Braga for the WBC silver featherweight championship on the Royal Area in Copenhagen, Oshoba dominated from the opening bell. After dropping Braga within the eighth spherical, she delivered a knockout blow within the tenth spherical that made historical past – securing her place as Nigeria’s first-ever feminine world title-holder.
The victory was much more spectacular provided that it got here simply months after turning skilled. Her meteoric rise included two knockout victories in Nigeria earlier than heading to the UK, the place she rapidly racked up three victories, together with a first-round TKO in her debut.
Cricket Queens
Nigeria’s Underneath-19 girls’s cricket crew secured Africa’s sole ticket to the 2025 ICC U-19 Ladies’s World Cup in Malaysia after an unbeaten run by means of the qualifiers in Kigali, Rwanda, marking solely the second time Nigeria will probably be taking part in any cricket World Cup.
The crew’s journey included a four-wicket victory over Tanzania, a one-wicket triumph towards Zimbabwe, and an amazing 86-run win over Malawi to prime Group B. Within the semi-final, they defeated hosts Rwanda by 62 runs earlier than being declared winners when their ultimate rematch with Zimbabwe was interrupted by rain.
Captain Fortunate Piety will lead the unchanged squad from the qualifiers, together with standout performers Shola Adekunle, Peculiar Agboya, and Anointed Aikigbe, with Kenyan coach Sarah Bakhita on the helm.
D’Tigress’s Olympic success
Nigeria’s senior girls’s basketball crew, D’Tigress, wrote their names within the historical past books on the Paris Olympics by turning into the primary African basketball crew to achieve the quarter-finals. Their historic run included a shocking victory over Australia of their opening recreation, setting the tone for a memorable match.
Underneath the steering of coach Rena Wakama, who was later named the Greatest Feminine Basketball Coach on the Video games, the crew’s achievement was much more outstanding contemplating that they had misplaced to the USA by 56 factors within the qualifiers simply months earlier.
Their spectacular exhibiting contributed to a major rise within the FIBA world rankings, with D’Tigress climbing 4 spots to occupy the eighth place globally whereas sustaining their standing as Africa’s top-ranked crew. The crew additionally secured their fourth consecutive AfroBasket title earlier within the yr.
Oluwafemiayo’s Paralympic treble
Folashade Oluwafemiayo’s outstanding efficiency on the Paris Paralympics wasn’t nearly defending her title – it was about making historical past. The para-powerlifter grew to become the primary feminine para-athlete in historical past to elevate 167kg, breaking her personal world file within the course of.
With the gold medal already secured at 166kg, the 39-year-old returned for yet one more try, efficiently lifting 167kg to enhance her world file additional. Her dedication to coaching, even by means of sickness and ache, exemplified the spirit that has made her a a number of world champion.
Her success was a part of a broader triumph for Nigeria’s para-powerlifters, who gained 4 medals in whole within the French capital. The outstanding success of African rivals was evident within the para-powerlifting medal desk, with Egypt ending third and Nigeria fourth within the general standings.
Bolaji’s badminton breakthrough
Eighteen-year-old Eniola Bolaji wrote her identify into the historical past books as the primary African athlete to win a medal in Para-Badminton on the Paralympics. Her bronze medal victory within the Ladies’s Singles SL3 class on the Porte de la Chapelle Area marked a major milestone for each Nigeria and the continent.
In a testomony to her combating spirit, Bolaji confirmed outstanding composure all through the match. After falling brief in a hard-fought semi-final towards China’s Zuxian Xiao, dropping 2-0 (16-21, 17-21), she regrouped impressively for the bronze medal match. Dealing with Ukraine’s Oksana Kozyna, Bolaji produced a masterclass, dominating each units with scores of 21-9, 21-9.
African Video games Success
Nigeria’s second-place end on the thirteenth African Video games in Ghana, with 120 medals together with 47 gold, 33 silver and 40 bronze, highlighted the emergence of a brand new era of athletes able to take over from established stars.
The Video games unveiled a number of promising abilities throughout numerous sports activities. Seventeen-year-old Prestina Ochonogor claimed bronze within the girls’s lengthy bounce with a leap of 6.67m, whereas competing towards established star Ese Brume. Nineteen-year-old Pleasure Eze dominated the weightlifting competitors, claiming three gold medals in her new 71kg class.
In weightlifting, Edidiong Umoafia delivered a masterclass efficiency by sweeping all three gold medals within the males’s 67kg class. The 21-year-old showcased his power with a 135kg elevate within the snatch and a 165kg elevate within the clear & jerk, for a mixed whole of 300kg. Equally, 23-year-old Ruth Ayodele dominated her class with three golds, lifting 94kg in snatch, 144kg in clear and jerk for a complete of 208kg.
The emergence of stars like 21-year-old Olayinka Olajide in athletics, who claimed medals of each shade – gold within the 4x100m relays, silver within the 200m with a private better of 23.18 seconds, and bronze within the 100m – suggests a vibrant future for Nigerian sports activities.
LOWS
Paris Olympics no-show
Tales of woes about Nigerian sports activities resurfaced after the nation’s 88-man contingent to the Paris 2024 Olympics did not win any medals. It was the eighth time within the nation’s Olympic historical past, which started in Helsinki in 1952. Like different outings at Melbourne 1956, Rome 1960, Mexico 1968, Moscow in 1980, Seoul in 1988, and London 2012, Group Nigeria had 88 athletes throughout 12 sports activities on the Paris Olympics however couldn’t safe any medals.
A few of the nation’s largest medal hopefuls did not shine. Tobi Amusan didn’t make the ultimate of ladies’s 100-metre hurdles regardless of being the world file holder. Ese Brume completed fifth within the girls’s lengthy bounce, whereas Blessing Oborududu additionally ended her contest outdoors a podium place.
Ofili saga
If not profitable any medals on the Olympics was not low sufficient, Nigeria’s marketing campaign in Paris was rocked by controversies, the most important of them maybe was when sprinter Favour Ofili cried out over being omitted from the ladies’s 100m occasion regardless of qualifying. The then Minister of the defunct Ministry of Sports activities Growth, John Enoh, (now Minister of State for Business) arrange an investigative panel to unravel the reason for Ofili’s omission, amongst different points that rocked the nation’s N9bn participation within the Video games.
The panel faulted Rita Mosindi, the secretary-general of AFN, and Samuel Onikeku, AFN technical director, for negligence and poor judgement, respectively, at completely different levels of the fiasco.
Doping bans
One other Nigerian controversy on the Paris Olympics was the ban on light-weight boxer Cynthia Ogunsemilore, who was provisionally suspended after she examined optimistic for a banned substance forward of her opening struggle on the Olympics. Ogunsemilore examined optimistic for furosemide, a diuretic on WADA’s prohibited record, in an out-of-competition doping management.
Borrowed bicycle?
Maybe essentially the most misconstrued intentions in 2024 however Nigerian bicycle owner, Ese Ukpeseraye, set the nation up for dragging on the Olympics when she thanked her German counterparts for coming to her rescue with a bicycle for the kerin and particular person dash occasions on the Video games. The then Minister of Sports activities Growth, Enoh, defined that the German crew that offered the bicycle for Ukpeseraye was in partnership with Nigeria and the association was made to forestall her from lacking the competitors. No matter all the reasons, Ukpeseraye’s case highlighted Nigeria’s common inadequacy on the international stage.
Finidi-Osimhen fiasco
Between Could and June 2024, Nigerian soccer witnessed a chaotic spell after the appointment of ex-international Finidi George as the top coach of the Tremendous Eagles. Finidi’s two-game reign began with a draw towards South Africa in a vital 2026 World Cup qualifier match earlier than dropping 2-1 towards the Benin Republic. The inquest into the outcomes led to the resignation of Finidi, however he was trailed by unguarded feedback on social media by striker Victor Osimhen, who claimed the coach had fingered him as one of many causes for the loss. Whether or not the controversy was dealt with by the Nigeria Soccer Federation stays a thriller, however everybody had moved on from the problems whereas the crew’s qualification for the World Cup within the USA, Canada and Mexico is hanging by a thread.
Like Anthony Joshua, like Israel Adesanya
From having the ‘Nigerian profitable energy’, it appears Anthony Joshua is now struggling to struggle for his place amongst boxing heavyweights, no because of his knockout within the arms of Daniel Dubois within the fifth spherical of their IBF heavyweight bout in September. After closing 2023 with three wins and beginning 2024 with one other towards Francis Ngannou, the 34-year-old was floored – for the fourth time in his profession – by Dubois, and that defeat diminished the hopes of being within the mixture of a few of the largest fights within the upcoming yr.
Within the MMA, South Africa’s Dricus du Plessis additionally defeated Israel Adesanya to retain his UFC middleweight title. Adesanya was compelled to faucet out in submission along with his neck locked in a rear-naked choke by Du Plessis within the fourth spherical of the bout, marking a second consecutive lack of the New Zealand-based fighter.
U-17 AFCON/World Cup misses
Nigeria has gained 5 FIFA U-17 World Cup titles to develop into essentially the most profitable nation at that degree however has did not make an impression within the competitors since 2017 after they did not qualify. They’ll now miss back-to-back editions (2023 and 2025) after their woeful outing on the WAFU B match earlier this yr.
In a complicated replace shared by the NFF, Nigerians and even the Golden Eaglets thought that they had certified for the 2025 U-17 AFCON in Ivory Coast after the NFF reported that the crew had certified by beating Ghana within the third-place match of the WAFU qualifiers for the AFCON, however the soccer physique later introduced their 3-2 win over Ghana wasn’t sufficient to safe them a spot.
Misplaced glory of amenities
After spending thousands and thousands of naira on the refurbishment of Moshood Abiola Nationwide Stadium and the 52—yr—previous Nationwide Stadium, Surulere, Lagos, Nigeria nonetheless has just one facility which desires to host a CAF recreation – the Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo. With different stadiums scattered throughout completely different cities within the nation, they merely function match venues for various league groups.
Toothless D’Tigers
Nigeria’s males’s basketball crew and 2015 AfroBasket champions, the D’Tigers, hit a brand new low in 2024 after they made a large number of the primary three video games of their 2025 AfroBasket qualifying marketing campaign in Tunisia. A lot of the crew’s issues have been administrative since 2023, they usually hit one other low when lack of funds noticed them arrive in Tunisia, the venue of the qualifiers few hours earlier than their first recreation. That they had initially introduced their withdrawal from the qualifiers over a scarcity of funds. Following a late rally, they arrived in Tunisia however misplaced their first three video games of the collection towards Libya, Uganda and Cape Verde. D’Tigers would want an improved efficiency when the second part of the qualifiers commences in February 2025.