Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN) is banking on a last-minute surge to secure places at the 2026 World Athletics Relays, with a group of Nigerian athletes set to compete in the United States just days before the qualification deadline.
The federation has turned its attention away from its limited outing at the recent World Indoor Championships, shifting focus to relay qualification and early preparations for the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow.
“That [World Indoors] is not our priority now. Our priority is to try and go and qualify for World Relays and then our Glasgow preparation for the Commonwealth Games,” AFN president Tonobok Okowa said as quoted by the Punch.
Nigeria’s women’s 4x400m team is currently hanging on to a qualification spot but remains vulnerable, sitting 23rd out of the 24 available places.
The quartet had initially posted 3:31.14 at the Champs Athletics Classics in Calabar on March 7 to move into contention, but rising global competition has tightened the race for places.
With the qualification window running until April 5, the federation sees the upcoming “Battle on the Bayou” meet at the LSU Bernie Moore Stadium as a decisive opportunity.
The Baton Rouge event, scheduled for April 3 to 4, is expected to feature Nigerian athletes based in American colleges, a group the federation is relying on to deliver improved times.
“Our women just qualified in 4 by 400 relay. You know you have to be among the 24 countries now before you’ll be allowed to participate. It’s not like it used to be,” Okowa said.
“So, we still want some of our athletes in the US. They admit that they’re going to run there too to try to qualify for the relay, and if it’s possible, we’ll try to better our time. That’s it, we’ll try and qualify before the deadline.”
Before the United States meet, Nigeria will compete at the Lefika International Relays in Gaborone on March 28, using the event as both preparation and an early qualification attempt.
Nigeria will face teams from Poland, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Lesotho and hosts Botswana across the men’s and women’s 4x100m and 4x400m relays, as well as the mixed 4x400m.
There is also another route on home soil, with athletes able to chase qualifying times at the Jos leg of the Champs event.
The 2026 World Athletics Relays will be staged at the Botswana National Stadium from May 2 to 3, marking the first time the event will be held on African soil.
