The Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has named its official team to the 3rd CAA U-18/U-20 Championships, which begin on Wednesday at the MKO Abiola Stadium, Abeokuta, Ogun State, Nigeria. 

The 92-man contingent, which was named on Tuesday by AFN’s president, Tonobok Okowa, and the technical director, Gabriel Okon, has 51 males and 41 females.

The team moved into the championship village on Monday after two weeks of camping shortly after the national trials in Shagamu, Ogun State, under the close watch of the AFN Technical Committee led by Gabriel Okon.

A breakdown of the team shows that 22 boys and 18 girls will be competing for honors in the U-18 category, while 24 girls and 28 boys will be vying for honors in the U-20 category of the championships.

Team Nigeria will be competing for honors in 17 events in both U18 boys and girls, while in the U20, Team Nigeria will be campaigning in 18 and 19 events for girls and boys, respectively. 

Okon said the Technical Committee took a very critical and thorough look at the strength, technical and tactical abilities, as well as the events that the country has an advantage in, before selecting each member of Team Nigeria.

The technical director said, “I’m confident that this will go places; they are the future of Nigerian athletics. They’re young, eager to learn, and the spirit in the camp is sky high.” 

Meanwhile, the president of AFN, Tonobok Okowa, has charged members of Team Nigeria to go for glory at the competition, which starts Wednesday.

Okowa, a vice president of the Confederation of African Athletics, added, “We went to Ndola, Zambia, two years ago with 41 athletes, and the team finished on the podium. This time around we want to run for the top honor.”

Temitope Ademola and Honourable Victor Clement are the captains of the team; Ademola leads the girls, and Clement is the boys leader.