Nesiama Calls for Strategic Planning Ahead of Beijing 2027, LA 2028 After Commonwealth Games

Nesiama Calls for Strategic Planning Ahead of Beijing 2027, LA 2028 After Commonwealth Games

Ohis Asein

Former Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), retired Commodore Omatseye Nesiama, has urged Nigerian athletics authorities to immediately begin long-term planning for the 2027 World Athletics Championships in Beijing and the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles following the conclusion of the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland.

Speaking on Nigeria's performance at the Games, Nesiama said the competition had provided a useful assessment of the country's current standing, despite the absence of many of the world's leading athletics nations.

"We should by now have known where we stand without 50 per cent of the rest of the world competing," he said. "It is obvious that we still need to continue working hard by creating an enabling environment for our athletes to thrive."

The former AFN Technical Director stressed that the next step should be the development of a comprehensive strategic plan focused on achieving success at the 2027 World Championships and the LA 2028 Olympic Games.

According to him, the strategy should identify both potential and possible medal prospects while introducing a special performance management system to monitor athletes' development and progress.

The Chairman, Nigeria Olympics Committee Technical and Development Commission also called for a well-structured budget backed by clearly defined funding sources to ensure the successful implementation of the programme.

He urged the federation and stakeholders to engage corporate organisations to adopt athletics as a sport and sponsor individual athletes as part of preparations for future international competitions.

"Corporate bodies can be contacted to adopt the sport and even different athletes to support their preparations," he said.

He further emphasised the importance of exposing Nigerian athletes to more training camps and high-level competitions, insisting that regular competition remains the true measure of an athlete's preparedness.

"It is my philosophy that competition is a test of training efforts," Nesiama concluded, highlighting the need for consistent international exposure if Nigeria is to compete successfully on the global stage.