SECRETARY General of Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) Tunde Popoola says early preparation remains the best way to make reasonable impact at international sports arena.
He made the submission while x-raying the Nation’s sports performance last year and taking a peep into the New Year and beyond. He noted that athletes capable of competing at the highest level have always been available in Nigeria but regretted that poor and late preparations have always robed them the opportunity to show the world what they are capable of doing.
“We have always had athletes who are eager to do the nation proud, what we have always lacked is the will to prepare early for championships,” he said
On the forthcoming Commonwealth Games billed for Australia in 2018, Popola opined that the best time to begin preparation for the event at worst is now, noting that most countries actually begin preparation for the next edition of any Games immediately the curtain falls on the previous one.
“As a matter of fact preparation for Gold Coast 2018 ought to have started but let’s say worst case scenario it should begin now, unfortunately we are yet to begin,” he regretted
Some sports fans who bared their minds on Nigeria and preparation for international championships, predicted that the forthcoming Games may suffer setback considering that the World Cup will be taking place same year and the tradition of paying more attention to football at the expense of other sports has not changed.