Nigeria eyes World Relays qualification as Adegoke joins team

Enoch Adegoke is set to strengthen Team Nigeria’s bid to qualify for the World Relay Championships as the team travels to Botswana for a key qualification meet.

The Tokyo 2020 finalist will join the team in Gaborone, arriving from Germany ahead of the Lefika International Relays.

A 15-member Nigerian team, accompanied by three officials, left Lagos on Wednesday and is expected to arrive on Thursday after a stopover in Addis Ababa.

The general secretary of the Nigerian Athletics Federation, Israel Inwang, said the athletes are in high spirits ahead of Saturday’s races.

Nigeria will compete in four events – men’s 4x100m, men’s and women’s 4x400m, and mixed 4x400m – as they aim to secure qualification for the World Relay Championships, which will also take place in Gaborone in May.

The country has already qualified in the women’s 4x100m and mixed 4x100m events.

AFN technical director Gabriel Okon said combining national and foreign athletes would be key to improving results.

“We need to create a solid combination of domestic and foreign athletes,” he said.

He added that the team is well prepared and capable of achieving qualification spots.

Okon also thanked the National Sports Commission and the management of the AFN for their support.

Nigeria will look to secure additional relay spots as preparations continue for the world championships later this year.