Team Nigeria has declared its readiness to deliver its most successful performance yet at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, with the National Sports Commission (NSC) setting an ambitious target of 20 gold medals, surpassing the country’s previous best of 12 gold medals recorded at the Birmingham 2022 Games.
Key Highlights
- 72 Nigerian athletes to compete in 10 sports at the 2026 Commonwealth Games.
- NSC targets a record 20 gold medals, exceeding the 12 won in Birmingham 2022.
- Team completes a three-week high-performance training camp in Aberdeen.
- Tobi Amusan, Folashade Oluwafemiayo, Kayinsola Ajayi, Patricia Mbata among Nigeria’s top medal prospects.
- Enhanced athlete welfare package includes $8,000 gold medal bonuses and ₦500,000 travel support.
Nigeria’s contingent comprises 72 athletes, including 34 men and 38 women, who will compete across 10 sporting events as the country seeks to strengthen its status as one of the Commonwealth’s leading sporting nations.
The athletes recently concluded an intensive three-week training and camping programme in Aberdeen before relocating to the Games Village in Glasgow ahead of the opening ceremony. The first batch of athletes and officials arrived earlier, while the remaining delegation joined the team before the weekend.
Nigeria’s medal campaign will begin with Para-Powerlifting, one of the country’s most successful sports on the international stage.
Leading the charge is Folashade Oluwafemiayo, the reigning Commonwealth champion, two-time Paralympic gold medallist, four-time world champion and multiple world record holder, who is aiming to defend the title she won at Birmingham 2022.
Joining her is Rita Ferdinand, the reigning world champion in her weight class, who heads into the Games after equalling the women’s world record with a 154kg lift at the African Open Championships in Oran, Algeria, where she also established a new African record in the women’s 79kg category.
In athletics, Nigeria will look to world record holder Tobi Amusan and sprint sensation Kayinsola Ajayi to spearhead its medal ambitions.
Amusan is bidding to become the first athlete to win three consecutive Commonwealth women’s 100m hurdles titles, having claimed gold in 2018 and 2022. The 29-year-old arrives in Glasgow in outstanding form after victories at the Rabat and Paris Diamond League meetings, successfully defending her African title in Ghana and qualifying for the Diamond League Final in Brussels.
Ajayi has also enjoyed a remarkable season, winning both the NCAA Indoor 60m and NCAA Outdoor 100m titles before equalling Nigeria’s national 100m record of 9.84 seconds for the third time this year. He recently defeated reigning world champion Oblique Seville at the London Diamond League after recording another impressive victory at the Prefontaine Classic in Eugene.
Nigeria’s hopes in the women’s long jump suffered a setback following the withdrawal of defending Commonwealth champion Ese Brume due to injury. She has been replaced by Ruth Usoro and Prestina Ochonogor.
Meanwhile, African record holder Chukwuebuka Enekwechi is expected to contend for a medal in the men’s shot put. The two-time African champion holds the continental record of 22.10 metres and remains one of Nigeria’s strongest medal prospects.
In boxing, Patricia Mbata, who recently switched her international allegiance from Great Britain to Nigeria, will represent the country in the middleweight division. Mbata qualified after defeating reigning national champion Blessing Orakwe at the selection trials and previously won gold at the African Games.
The National Sports Commission, under the leadership of Chairman Mallam Shehu Dikko and Director-General Bukola Olopade, has introduced improved welfare packages for athletes, including higher camping allowances, better travel support and enhanced performance bonuses.
Gold medallists could earn up to $8,000 in combined rewards, while every athlete and official received ₦500,000 as travel support in addition to improved local and overseas camping allowances.
Addressing the team before departure, Olopade urged the athletes to justify the government’s investment through podium performances, stressing that the improved welfare package should translate into outstanding results.
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Sprinter Favour Ashe commended the quality of the Aberdeen training camp and confirmed that athletes received their allowances in full. His remarks echoed those of former Olympic and world wrestling champion Daniel Igali, who also praised the Commission’s athlete welfare initiatives.
Nigeria first competed at the Commonwealth Games in Auckland 1950, winning a silver medal through high jumper Joshua Majekodunmi. Since then, the country has amassed 271 medals, comprising 82 gold, 84 silver and 105 bronze, establishing itself among the competition’s most successful nations.
The 2026 Commonwealth Games will take place in Glasgow, Scotland, from July 23 to August 2, featuring about 3,000 athletes from 74 Commonwealth Games Associations competing for 215 gold medals across 11 sports.
