BEVERLY HILLS, August 19, (THEWILL) – Nigerian athletes in Rio only received their Olympic kits on day 13th day of the Games, when some of the sportsmen have finished their events, with 3 days to the end of the games.
Athletes competed in Rio in the same kit as worn at the World Athletics Championships in March leading to low morale in the team.
So far, Team Nigeria has not won any medals at the games.
“We are disappointed and embarrassed. We’ve been wearing kits from the World Athletics Championships,” one athlete revealed.
There have been comparisons between the tracksuits worn by the Team for London 2012 and that worn at Rio’s opening ceremony.
Even the men’s football team that as its own sponsored kit was hit by funding problems as the players only arrived hours before their first match as they were stranded in Atlanta.
The government had budgeted 600m naira ($1.7m; £1.3m) for the Olympics, but payment problems appear to have dogged Nigerian Olympians.
“Money meant for the Games was held tightly by [sport] ministry officials and they were just releasing money piecemeal,” an unnamed Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) official alleged.
Meanwhile, Japanese plastic surgeon, Katsuya Takasu, has promised to donate $200,000 to the football team after hearing about its financial difficulties.
The players were held up in the US city of Atlanta because of problems paying for their flight and only landed in Brazil just hours before their opening 5-4 win over Japan.
Takasu has also promised each player a $10,000 bonus if they win bronze.
Story by David Oputah.
