WA U-20: Udo-Obong says Team Nigeria athletes treated poorly

Two-time Olympic Games medallist, Enefiok Udo-Obong, has voiced his disappointment and frustration over the poor preparation and management of Team Nigeria at the recently concluded World U20 Athletics Championships in Peru.

Reflecting on the team's medal-less outing, Udo-Obong attributed the dismal performance not to a lack of talent or effort from the athletes but to gross administrative failures and lack of adequate support.

Udo-Obong highlighted the chaos surrounding the team's preparation for the championship. According to him, the athletes received their travel information just a night before their departure, forcing them to make frantic, last-minute efforts to reach Abuja from various parts of the country, such as Akure, Lagos, Uyo, and Asaba.

He pointed out that some athletes had to borrow as much as 230,000 Naira to cover their expenses, showing a lack of organization and planning by the administrators.

Udo-Obong criticized the poorly planned travel itinerary, which saw the athletes enduring a gruelling journey with three stopovers and long, tiring airport transfers. This, he argued, significantly affected their recovery time and contributed to jet lag, ultimately impacting their performance. Moreover, after the competition ended on August 31st, the Nigerian team was forced to move out of the World Athletics hotel and find cheaper accommodation for three days, waiting for their flight scheduled for September 3rd — a further indignity considering other teams had already departed.

The Olympian also condemned the meagre allowances provided to the athletes. Home-based athletes and coaches, he revealed, were not paid any allowances before departure, with rumours suggesting they would receive 100,000 Naira (about 60 USD) upon their return — a sum that is both inadequate and insulting. In stark contrast, Udo-Obong noted that their teammates from the US were reportedly given 300 USD (around 480,000 Naira), almost five times what the home-based athletes were promised. This discrepancy, he stressed, created a divide within the team and further demoralized the athletes.

Udo-Obong lamented the lack of proper team attire, with Nigerian athletes being the only ones in the competition without uniform clothing. Instead, they were seen wearing school uniforms and personal clothes, with only a tracksuit and one competition vest provided. He expressed outrage that even necessities like a backpack for their spikes and shoes were not given, with athletes instead relying on souvenir backpacks from the event organizers. He argued that this poor presentation not only embarrassed the athletes but also undermined their morale and made them feel inferior to their peers from other countries, such as South Africa, Australia, and Kenya.

In his feedback, Udo-Obong emphasized that the athletes were not to blame for the poor showing at the championships. He argued that they were victims of an administration that seemed to regard them as expendable and failed to provide the basic support required for them to excel. He noted that the officials treated the athletes as if they were doing them a favor, rather than fulfilling their responsibilities to nurture and support young talent.

Udo-Obong concluded his remarks by calling for urgent reforms in the way Nigerian athletics is managed, stressing that the country's young athletes deserve better support, planning, and respect if they are to compete and succeed on the world stage.