Nigeria’s relay team departs for Olympics Qualifiers in USA
Team Nigeria’s preparations for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics has hit top gear as 16 athletes yesterday departed the Murtala Mohammed International Airport Lagos for Texas where they will take part in relay Qualifiers.
The Minister of Sports, Sunday Dare was at the airport to see off the 16 athletes and officials who were dressed in their new kits.
The team had almost three weeks camping in Abuja to prepare for the relay races in the United States which also serves as Qualifiers for the Olympics.
It will be recalled that the team recently missed out of the World Relays in Poland due to visa hitches.
The Secretary General of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Prince Niyi Beyioku said “Our athletes are highly motivated to participate in various relays in the United States. Contrary to a report which claimed the team was stranded, you can see that it is not true.
“You can see them in their new kits courtesy of the Minister of sports who did everything to make the trip a reality. The team has no financial problems.
“Team Nigeria Olympic preparation is on track. This is evident in what we are seeing. The advance party went ahead to fine tune all arrangements.
“This is a mark of commitment on the part of the Minister to ensure a hitch free event and podium success in Tokyo”
Team Nigeria would take part in the first relay on May 12.
Nine-time African champions, the Super Falcons will battle heavyweights, the USA, Jamaica and Portugal at this year’s WNT Summer Series to be presented by AT&T 5G in the United States of America.
The glamour tournament, which also held in 2017 and 2018, will run between 10th – 16th June and will see the Super Falcons clashing with their Jamaican counterparts at the BBVA Stadium in Houston on the 10th before taking on Portugal three days later at the same BBVA Stadium.
Their last match will be against the USA squad, fourtime winners of the FIFA World Cup and four-time winners of the Olympic football gold, at the Q2 Stadium on 16th June.
Randy Waldrum, who presently coaches Nigeria’s Women A team, is an American who also coached the Trinidad and Tobago Women’s National Team 2014-2016, and led the Super Falcons to three wins out of three in the Turkish Women’s Invitational Tournament in Antalya in February.
The Super Falcons have remained the dominant force in Africa since qualifying for the first edition of the FIFA Women’s World Cup 30 years ago and winning the first edition of the Women AFCON in 1998.