National Sports Commission Director-General Bukola Olopade says Nigeria’s early preparations for the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games are beginning to produce results, with increased athlete support and investment in emerging talent forming the backbone of the country’s strategy.
Rather than waiting until the final months before the Olympics, Olopade says the NSC has begun putting structures in place to support athletes through training grants, medical assistance and a clearer development pathway from junior to elite competition.
“For our athletes, everything that needs to be given, we have started giving,” Olopade said while discussing the Commission’s athlete-first approach.
“We are determined… to ensure that this commitment goes beyond athletics.”
One key part of that strategy is the NSC’s athlete grant system. Nigeria’s women’s beach volleyball team, which has already qualified for LA 2028, was recently brought into the Elite and Podium Board programme to receive training grants and high-performance support ahead of the Games.
Olopade has also pointed to Nigeria’s investment in young athletes as evidence that longer-term planning is beginning to take shape.
The Commission introduced an Invited Junior Athletes programme to give leading youngsters greater competitive opportunities, while the new National Intermediate Games is designed to bridge the gap between junior discoveries and senior international athletes.
Olopade believes signs of progress are already visible.
“We are seeing school children representing us at world and Africa championships,” he recently said, adding that cooperation between the NSC and national federations was becoming increasingly productive.
With LA 2028 still almost two years away, the NSC’s challenge will be sustaining that support through qualification and into the Games themselves.
But for Olopade, Nigeria’s Olympic preparations have already begun — not with promises for 2028, but with investment in the athletes expected to carry the flag when Los Angeles arrives.
