Tokyo 2020: NFF congratulates, Dare, sports ministry

The Nigeria Football Federation has congratulated the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development and Mr. Sunday Dare, the Minister of Youth and Sports, for Nigeria’s performance at the 32nd Olympic Games, which ended a few days ago in Tokyo, Japan.

Nigeria brought home one silver and one bronze medal from the Games, as well as a spate of promising performances from a number of competitors who advanced to the finals of their respective disciplines.

A Nigerian athlete competed in the final of the Games’ most prestigious event, the men’s 100m sprint, for the first time since 1996. Oluwatobiloba Amusan, a young hurdler, finished fourth in the women’s high hurdles final, just missing out on a medal.

“The Nigeria contingent may not have returned with the harvest of medals that many hoped for, but there are bright lights all around and some brilliant individual performances that give hope for the next Games in Paris. At the end of the day, the silver and bronze medals earned in Tokyo make the just-ended Olympics Nigeria’s best outing in 13 years. That is commendable.

“The Sports Minister, in his personal capacity, and the Ministry of Sports as a body worked their socks off. The Honourable Minister was exemplary; he explained, encouraged and empathized with the athletes as necessary and led the cheer at most of the venues where Nigerian athletes competed.

“He is such a wonderful breath of fresh air from the immediate Minister of Sports who rather constituted himself into a bulwalk and divisive force against Nigerian athletes at the last Olympics in Brazil. We do not wish to recall his inglorious remarks against the football team when the team was camping in the USA. That football team eventually ended up winning Team Nigeria’s only medal – a bronze – at the Games” the NFF said.