Final 12 months was principally trash for Nigerian sport, however will 2024 be higher?

Final 12 months was a lean 12 months for Nigerian sport, with the main spotlight being Victor Osimhen changing into the primary man in 15 years to say the African Footballer of the 12 months title.

And naturally, the Tremendous Falcons stirred hearts once more on the FIFA Ladies’s World Cup by advancing to the knockouts and practically defeating England.

Outdoors of that, it was the same old story of bickering, close to misses and scandals. In 2024, can Nigerian followers dream of at the least some turnaround in fortunes? Let’s predict.

Osimhen to win the CAF award once more

When it has been so lengthy because the final Nigerian received Africa’s prime males’s prize, certainly a rustic with the footballing standing of Nigeria deserves to do a repeat?

Accidents have restricted Osimhen’s contributions to date this season for Napoli, however the ahead has proven exceptional capability to bounce again from adversity to make successful of the time he has.

With the Africa Cup of Nations kicking off in mid-January, and World Cup qualifiers to return, we must always count on the Napoli man, who prime scored with 10 targets in qualifying, to repeat as event prime shot after which comply with that up with main the pack in World Cup qualifying.

One other burst of targets to propel Napoli to the title, and assist them see off Barcelona and go on to win the UEFA Champions League would all however see him lock issues up very properly. To not point out serving to Nigeria to win their third AFCON title.

Olympic gold for Tobi Amusan

Ranked #1 in 2023 within the 110m hurdles, Amusan already holds the world document for the occasion, has received the Diamond League title 3 times consecutively from 2021 to 2023, received Commonwealth gold twice and was World Champion in 2022.

This isn’t even including her streak of African titles. Amusan is definitely, one of many prime three hurdlers on this planet. Going to Paris, it shouldn’t be an excessive amount of to count on that she will probably be one in all Nigeria’s finest hopes to win a gold medal.

Amusan will probably be one of many favourites in Paris so any doubters would do nicely to learn up what she has already completed.

Nigeria’s D’Tigress to characteristic in Paris

There may be nonetheless an extended highway forward, however Nigeria’s ladies’s basketball group have proven that they thrive underneath the longest of odds.

Having battled their solution to a fourth Afrobasket title on the bounce, D’Tigress have Olympic qualification as their subsequent goal. They are going to participate in a sequence the place they’ve been grouped with world primary USA, and likewise Belgium and Senegal.

Two groups are anticipated to advance from their group, which play their qualifying video games in Belgium in early February. D’Tigress have already crushed Senegal and will probably be assured of a repeat. In addition they have a superb probability of beating the hosts Belgium.

Making it to the Video games will make up ultimately for it World Cup miss, once they had been withdrawn by the previous Sports activities Minister because of the disaster within the NBBF.

However why cease at simply qualifying. Nothing would salve the ache of lacking out on the World Cup greater than getting on the rostrum in Paris, and these gamers can do it.

Please, let Nigerian basketball discover peace

Talking of basketball, can we simply have an finish to this disaster in 2024, please! The rift between management factions is happening seven years.

The injury to the game has been immense, the most recent being the boys’s group failing to even make it previous the qualifying rounds for the Olympic Video games, despite the fact that they hosted the event in Nigeria.

This has been occurring for manner too lengthy and it’s time all events to this dispute discover a solution to put their very own pursuits and ego apart and resolve it as soon as and for all with the intention to transfer the game ahead.

Tremendous Eagles to safe African title once more

This 12 months will technically be the tenth anniversary of Stephen Keshi main the Tremendous Eagles to win their third African title, 30 years because the Tremendous Eagles received their second title in 1994.

Though this 12 months’s event is being performed in 2024, it’s technically the 2023 AFCON, so we are able to take some liberties there. However it is going to be precisely 30 years to the 12 months since Nigeria’s well-known Class of 94 received that event and went on to wow the world on the World Cup in USA.

Moreover, it has been 20 years since Enyimba received the CAF Champions League title they received for the primary time in 2003. No Nigerian group, earlier than or since, have received Africa’s flagship membership competitors.

What a exceptional story it might be if the the Tremendous Eagles marked these two triumphs with one other, and the Individuals’s Elephant, underneath the management of former Arsenal man Nwankwo Kanu, a UEFA Champions League winner himself, do the identical to carry the continental trophy residence once more.