In a major boost for grassroots sports development, the Athletics Uplift Network has taken a bold step toward supporting Nigerian home-based athletes with the appointment of a three-man selection panel to oversee its maiden sponsorship programme.
The panel, made up of respected athletics stakeholders — Dr. Henry Okorie, Ese Oguma, and Olabanji Ayegbusi — has been tasked with identifying the first batch of athletes who will benefit from the initiative.
The selection will focus on athletes who have demonstrated dedication, consistency, and promising potential within Nigeria’s athletics scene.
Dr. Henry Okorie, who serves as the Athletes’ Representative of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), is expected to bring credibility and a strong advocacy for athletes’ welfare to the selection process. His involvement is seen as a strategic move to ensure transparency and fairness.
Ese Oguma, the driving force behind the popular athletics media platform Athletics Heat, has built a reputation for consistently tracking and promoting Nigerian athletes both locally and internationally.
His deep knowledge of athletes’ performances is expected to strengthen the panel’s evaluation process.
Also on the panel is Olabanji Ayegbusi, founder of Dynamic Athletics, whose years of documenting and promoting Nigerian athletics have earned him widespread respect within the sports community.
His experience and passion for athlete development are expected to play a crucial role in identifying deserving beneficiaries.
According to the organisers, the successful athletes will be officially unveiled on the 10th of this month. The selected athletes will benefit from a one-year scholarship support programme aimed at reducing financial and logistical challenges often faced by home-based athletes.
The Athletics Uplift Network noted that the initiative is designed to provide athletes with improved training opportunities, competition exposure, and overall stability needed to maximise their performance.
With this programme, the organisation is reinforcing its commitment to strengthening grassroots athletics development and creating sustainable support structures for Nigerian athletes competing within the country.
The initiative is widely viewed as a timely intervention that could help bridge the gap between home-based athletes and their internationally-based counterparts, while also promoting talent development across Nigeria’s athletics ecosystem.
