Rio 2016: Nigeria not ready for Games

Nigeria is battling readiness three weeks before the Olympics Games in Rio.

Authorities at the Nigerian athletes and sports federations say they are facing key funding issues.

They argued that it is as a result of the country’s harsh economic status which has affected the sports ministry’s budget.

Head coach of Nigeria’s Olympic football team, Samson Siasia said he should not be held responsible should the team fail to impress the country.

“We won’t even get bronze like this, forget it, let’s face the fact, we have a lot of work to do but as long as we are going to go but we will still work on how to have a strong team when we get there,” he said. The sharp fall in global oil prices since 2014 has led to a prolonged economic crisis, Nigeria is one of the hardest hit.

“Everyone knows the preparation for this Olympics is a little bit wobble but then we are trying to see if we can cover it up as soon as we can,” said General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Federation (NFF), Mohammed Sanusi.

“You can’t avoid having one problem or another you know, as human being, problems are bound to come but what is important is what has been done to cement the problems so I must tell you we are doing everything to make sure that we give them quality preparations ahead of the Olympics,” Sanusi added.

Nigeria is making its 17th appearance at the Olympics and will compete in eight categories.