National Sports Commission (NSC) has reaffirmed its position that Team Nigeria contingent to the forthcoming summer Olympic Games in United Kingdom would not be an all comers affair, stating that only athletes that are capable of winning medals would be allowed to fly the country’s flag at the Games.
Chairman of the ministerial advisory and coordinating committee for Nigeria 2012 Olympics participation, Alhassan Yakmut, who stated this, said only grade A athletes would be allowed to represent the country at the Games, adding that there will be no ‘who know man’ in the selection of the athletes as Nigeria is bent on winning medals in London.
According to him, all the athletes that have so far qualified for the quadrennial sporting event merit their qualification. “No athletes will make it to the Olympics by arrangement. All the athletes that have qualified deserve their place in Team Nigeria to London. And those that would be selected after the national trial in Calabar would be on merit. We are determines to make impact in London and it would not be an all comers affair for athletes,” he said.
Former executive secretary of the Nigeria Premier League (NPL) also revealed that the Nigeria’s contingent the London Games would be handed over to the Nigeria Olympic Committee in a trumpet occasion to be organised by the National Sports Commission, NSC.
“The final athletes would be handed over to NOC not later than 21 days to the Olympics proper. However, the athletes will move into the University of Surrey, England camp on July 18 and that would be 24 hours to the opening of the Games Village.’’
He also noted that Surrey will be the camp for other athletes, arguing that the camps were carefully selected based on the technical benefits that would accrue from the centers.
Not less than 48 athletes made up of 26 male and 22 females have so far secured qualification tickets for Team Nigeria at the London Games. The sports are athletics, canoeing, table tennis, wrestling, weight lifting, Taekwondo and boxing.