April 26, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s delegation to the 2023 African U-18 and U-20 Athletics Championships has begun their journey to Ndola, Zambia.
The first batch, consisting of 41 athletes and 10 officials, left Lagos Tuesday, April 25, while the second batch is set to travel Wednesday, April 26, 2023. However, eight athletes were unable to make the trip due to delayed international passports, and some US-based athletes could not participate due to academic commitments.
According to the Head coach of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), Seigha Porbeni, Nigeria has high hopes for the athletes that made the trip to Zambia. “We are hopeful that these 41 athletes can give Nigeria the number of medals we expect when hostilities begin in Ndola”, Porbeni stated.
The Nigerian delegation comprises one secretary, one doctor, one physiotherapist, AFN’s Technical Director, and five coaches attached to the athletes.
The 2023 African U-18 and U-20 Athletics Championships will run from April 28 to May 5. Team Nigeria finished third at the last edition held in Cote d’Ivoire in 2019, behind South Africa and Kenya.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
