As the third edition of the Confederation of Africa Athletics Under-18 and Under-20 Championships begin today at the MKO Abiola Stadium Complex in Abeokuta, the Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) has unveiled 92 male and female athletes to fly the country’s flag.

AFN’s President, Chief Tonobok Okowa and the Technical Director, Gabriel Okon, yesterday listed 51 male and 41 female contingent that will try to wrestle the top position from South Africa.

According to Okon, the team moved into the championship village on Monday after two weeks of camping that followed the national trials in Shagamu, Ogun State.

A breakdown of the list shows that  23 boys and 17 girls will be competing for honours 17 events respectively in the U-18 category while 23 girls will also compete in 18 events while the 29 boys will be battle for honours in 19 events in the U-20 category of the Championships.

The Technical Director said the Technical Committee took a very critical and thorough look at the strength, technical and tactical abilities as well as the events that we have advantage in, before selecting each member of Team Nigeria.

“I’m confident that this will go places, they are the future of Nigeria athletics. They’re young, eager to learn and the spirit in the camp is sky high,” Okon a former sprint said.

 President of AFN, Chief Tonobok Okowa, also charged members of Team Nigeria to go for glory at the competition which starts Wednesday.

“It’s not a win at all cost but they should run, jump and throw with the zeal and determination to succeed, we are fully committed to this project of laying a solid foundation,” Okowa stated.

“We went to Ndola, Zambia two years ago with 41 athletes and the team finished on the podium. This time around we want to run for the top honour,” Okowa, a Vice President of the Confederation of African Athletics added.

Temitope Ademola and Honourable Victor Clement are the captains of the team, Ademola leads the girls and Clement is the boys leader.

Defending champions, South Africa have restated their determination to beat Team Nigeria and other countries to the title in Abeokuta. South Africa topped the medals table at first edition in Cote d’Ivoire in 2019 and retained their title in 2023 in Ndola, Zambia. 

Apart from the host country, Nigeria, South Africa has the second largest delegation in this year’s championships in Abeokuta.