Pedro Peter

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Director General of the National Sports Commission, Bukola Olopade, has reiterated that the country can still be represented in the relay events at the World Athletics Championships billed for Tokyo, Japan in September, after the nation’s inability to make the trip to the World Relays last week proved costly, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

Team Nigeria’s no-show at the just-concluded World Athletics Relays held in Guangzhou, China, significantly impacted the country’s chances of competing in the discipline at the forthcoming World Championships in Tokyo, Japan.

Earlier this month, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria via a statement, announced the country’s withdrawal from the 2025 World Relays in Guangzhou, China, citing issues with the visa process, despite the fact that the country had been scheduled to compete in four events (the men’s 4×100m, women’s 4×100m, 4×400m mixed relay and the newly introduced 4×100m mixed relay) at the two-day event.

Nigeria’s withdrawal led to blame being traded by the AFN, World Athletics and the Chinese Embassy in the country.

Particularly, the Chinese Embassy claimed the Athletics Federation of Nigeria muddied the facts about the visa processing timelines.

This marks the second time Team Nigeria will be affected by visa issues for a major championship this year.

The country had only one athlete at the World Indoors, which was also held in China in March.

However bleak the situation is, there is a silver lining for Team Nigeria, as the nation could still qualify for the relay events when the World Athletics Championships begin in September in Tokyo, Japan, as expressed by Olopade.

According to him, the National Sports Commission and the Athletics Federation of Nigeria are romancing the idea of organising a relay championships where the teams can compete with other nations and pick qualification for the World Athletics Championships.

“We are hosting the African U-20 Championships in Abeokuta, Ogun State in July, so we are looking at having relay championships at the same time,” Olopade revealed.

“All is not lost for our athletes, they can still qualify for the World Championships.

We are going to invite some of the countries that did not also go to China for the World Relays,” he added.

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As of this time, 14 spots out of 16 for each discipline have been accounted for, which leaves out just two places left in which countries will battle for during the qualification period.

With qualification rounds concluded, the lineup of countries set to compete in the relay events at the Tokyo 2025 Games has been finalised across all five categories.

In the women’s 4x100m, confirmed teams include Belgium, Canada, Chile, China, France, Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Netherlands, Poland, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

The men’s 4x100m will see entries from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Ghana, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Italy, Japan, Kenya, Poland, South Africa, and the United States.

For the women’s 4x400m, qualifiers are Australia, Belgium, Canada, France, Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Ireland, Italy, Norway, Poland, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland, and the United States.

In the men’s 4x400m, the competing nations include Australia, Belgium, Botswana, Brazil, China, France, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Jamaica, Kenya, Netherlands, Portugal, Qatar, South Africa, and the United States.

Finally, the mixed 4x400m relay will feature teams from Australia, Belgium, Canada, China, France, Germany, Great Britain & Northern Ireland, Ireland, Italy, Kenya, Poland, South Africa, Spain, and the United States.

It is important to note that while most of the relay tickets for Tokyo have now been taken, teams that missed out in Guangzhou, like Nigeria, still have a chance to qualify.

Two more slots in each of the five disciplines will be awarded based on top lists during the qualification period from 25 February 2024 to 24 August 2025.

Within this period, if Nigeria manages to set a fast qualification time at any officially recognised meet, then the African powerhouse will be present in the relay disciplines at the Championships.

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