Blame the Athletics Federation for poor outing in Moscow – Sports Ministry

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Chris Maduewesi

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The blame games have started,following Nigeria’s woeful performance at the just concluded World Athletics Championship in Moscow.
Following the below par outing,the National Sports Commission(NSC) said that the blame solely rests on the doors of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria(AFN) adding that they did not plan adequately for the World Championship.
Nigeria could only register two medals at the competition,a silver and bronze medal won by Blessing Okagbare in the Long Jump and 200m events.
The NSC said that Nigeria’s failures was as a result of poor planning and lack of adequate training to be able to compete in Moscow.
“I am surprised that anybody can suggest that the NSC did not assist AFN well. The AFN did a poor management of their preparation by completely ignoring funds for training or any training grant for the athletes. It was the minister who drew their attention to it but by then it had become very late to make any meaningful input because the championships were about to start. If the AFN planned better then it could have been better for Nigeria. It is the AFN that runs the sport directly,” an official of the Sports commission told The Punch.
The AFN after the championship,thanked the Sports Commission for making funds available for the Federation to prosecute their programme.
“This is the first time in recent times that the track and field team would be attending the competition and getting financial support from the NSC. Abdullahi’s presence in Moscow was the first time that a sports minister attended the World Championships which are the equivalent of the FIFA World Cup,’’ AFN Head of Communication and Media, Olukayode Thomas, said in a statement.

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