National Sports Commission (NSC) director-general, Honourable Bukola Olopade has come out with an enthusiastic declaration that recent events have revealed that ‘there are other sports that Nigeria is capable of winning apart from football ‘.
Sports247 reports that Olopade also served a strong hint that Nigerians should start looking beyond football as their main source of attraction and excitement, as he flaunts recent outings by the country’s fencers and junior female basketball team.
The NSC’s ‘DG’ congratulated Nigeria’s under-18 female basketball team, Junior Tigress, for qualifying for the 2027 FIBA U19 Women’s World Cup in China, and noted that the girls displayed remarkable resilience in the African semi-finals against hosts Ivory Coast.
Although the team lost to defending champions Mali in the final of the FIBA U18 Women’s AfroBasket Championship, Olopade noted that their semi-final victory secured Nigeria a place at the World Cup and described the achievement as worthy of celebration by all Nigerians.
In a similar vein, ‘DG’ relished seeing Nigeria emerge as the best African nation at the 2026 Commonwealth Fencing Championship, a third overall during the competition in Lagos, after six days of keen contests involving 20 countries, which Olopade said marked a significant milestone for the nation.
As the competition climaxed in Lagos, the hosts garnered a haul of 24 medals (one gold, five silver and 18 bronze) to finish third on the final table topped by India, with 17-year-old Oghenegaren Osievwa-Thompson emerging as the first Nigerian to win an international gold medal in fencing.
Olopade praised Osievwa-Thompson’s achievement and disclosed that the NSC has placed him in Elite Category A for the Commission’s Olympic grants programme, in which the youngster will receive $10,000 quarterly to support his training and preparations towards the Los Angeles 2028 Games.
The NSC’s top shot further noted that the fencing championship confirmed that Nigeria’s sporting potential extends beyond football, as he went on to stress the importance of giving greater recognition, support and investment to events that are often referred to as ‘lesser sports.’
“This has shown us that, beyond football, there are other sports that Nigeria is not just organizing but also winning and excelling in. We must give respect and credence to those sports,” said Olopade, who also presented Nigeria’s wheelchair fencing team with $10,000 in recognition of their performance.
