Lack of funds Bars 34 students Nigerian athletes of 2025 World University Games

Thirty -four Nigerian athlete students have denied the opportunity to participate in the Games of the Fisu World University of 2025 due to the lack of funds, throwing a shadow on what should have been a moment of pride for Nigerian university sports.

According to the findings of Sportxvibe.com.ng, 75 athletes initially qualified for the Global University event after a rigorous selection trial held at the University of Jos in the State of Plateau from April 6 to 12.

Although 52 of them camps for preparation, only 18 athletes could finally make the trip to Rhine-Ruhr, Germany, as the tournament begins on Wednesday, July 16.

The Nigerian delegation includes 18 athletes, 18 officials, two coaches, a team doctor and three media representatives.

However, the absence of almost half of the selected competitors originally highlights the continuous challenges in Nigeria’s sports development, particularly at the tertiary level.

One of the marginalized athletes, Oluwasegunfunmi Idowu, expressed his frustration for the lost opportunity.

“I feel sad and discouraged because I went through the stress that attended the judgments in Jos,” Gidowu said.

“Unfortunately, not being able to participate is not encouraging.

He urged the Nigerian government to provide more support to athletes, suggesting that improving financing could motivate young athletes to combine education with sports and aspire to international platforms.

Gbemileke Samuel, a sports agent who directs SGS Global Sport criticized the widest state of Nigeria’s tertiary sports infrastructure.

“What is the budget allocation for education in Nigeria? A part of that should go to fix the sports complexes of our institutions, many of which are in terrible conditions,” said Samuel.

“Some schools do not even have a decent soccer field. How do we expect to develop world -class athletes in such environments?”

The 2025 Rhine-Ruhr games will have 234 medal events in 18 sports, including athletics, swimming, basketball, taekwondo, judo and tennis.

This edition of the games marks the Basketball debut 3 × 3, 3 × 3 of basketball in wheelchair, beach and beach volleyball in the summer competition.