This disclosure follows the government’s scathing review of Nigeria’s poor showing at the Olympics, which they termed a “disaster”.
Nigerian shot put athlete Sade Olatoye recently opened up to NewsCentral about the lack of financial support she and her teammates received from the Nigerian government while preparing for the 2024 Olympics.
Olatoye revealed that they had to self-fund every aspect of their training, including coaching, medical expenses, and competition fees.
She noted that it wasn’t until they reached the championship stage that they were informed about potential grants, which only covered a mere 2% of their total expenses accumulated over four years of training.
Olatoye said “Pretty much every year, me and my teammates, everything is out of pocket.
“We pay for our own training, coaches, medical, competition, so everything is out of pocket. It is not until we get to the championship that we start hearing about potential grants.
“I have been training for four years, being given the grant at the competition which doesn’t pay for 2% of what I pay out of my pocket for four years of training.”
Watch the interview below:
.@BabatundeKoiki asks: "What kind of support did you get from the Nigerian authorities going into the Olympic games and if you did get any, when did it come?"
— News Central TV (@NewsCentralTV) August 17, 2024
Nigerian Athlete Sade Olatoye reveals that everything she and her teammates did to prepare was "out of pocket". pic.twitter.com/cGTC70N6CB
