Sports
Commonwealth Games: Nigeria misses 16 gold medals target, finishes as Africa’s best
By Eze Nnadi
Team Nigeria failed to hit the 16 hold medals target that was handed out to it as the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth games was rounded up in Scotland at the weekend
The National Sports Commission (NSC) had declared before the teams departure to Glasgow that its target was 16 goals, adding that it has also prepared the athletes enough, with enhanced incentives to reach the target
Nigeria’ however ended the games as Africa’s number one and highest-ranked nation, finishing an impressive seventh on the final medals table with ten gold, seven silver and seven bronze medals for a total of 24 medals.
Team Nigeria’s 24 medals haul at Glasgow was also short of the teams performance at the last games in 2022, at Birmingham, where Nigeria garnered a total number of 35 medals, including 12 gold medals
Australia dominated the Games with a commanding 70 gold medals, ahead of England and Canada, while Nigeria finished above traditional sporting nations such as Jamaica, Wales, Malaysia and South Africa.
The final medals table also highlighted Africa’s growing presence on the Commonwealth sporting stage, with 13 African countries winning at least one medal.
After Nigeria’s seventh-place finish, South Africa ranked 11th with 7 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals.
Kenya placed 13th with three gold, four silver and five bronze medals, while Mauritius (15th) secured one gold, two silver and one bronze.
Cameroon finished 16th with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals. Uganda ended 27th with two silver and one bronze medal, while Namibia (29th) claimed one silver and two bronze medals. Ghana finished 30th with one silver and one bronze.
Other African nations on the medals table included Lesotho (two bronze), Zambia (two bronze), Gabon (one bronze), Rwanda (one bronze) and The Gambia (one bronze).
While the reduced medal tally leaves room for reflection ahead of future major championships, Nigeria’s ability to finish as Africa’s number one nation once again underlines its strength across multiple sports and reinforces its position as one of the Commonwealth’s leading sporting countries.
Former Chelsea midfielder, Ruud Gullit, believes that England international, Marcus Rashford’s return to Manchester United could be the best Premier League signing of the summer.
Rashford recently returned to Manchester United after his loan spell at Barcelona ended.
Barcelona were expected to make the 28-year-old’s loan deal permanent in a £26million deal.
But the LaLiga champions ended up signing Anthony Gordon from Newcastle United and didn’t sign Rashford permanently.
Rashford has already joined up with Michael Carrick’s side at pre-season training after his World Cup break ended.
Speaking to Sport Witness, Gullit said, “Marcus Rashford could end up being the best signing.
“He learned a lot at Barcelona and played much better, with far more freedom, than he ever did at Manchester United.”
Ghana and South Africa have clinched the two African slots for the Inter-Confederation play-offs ahead of the 2027 Women’s World Cup in Brazil.
This follows their victories in the African play-offs on Thursday night.
The Black Queens came from a goal down to defeat Ivory Coast 2-1 in the first game.
Bayana Bayana also held on to beat Nigeria 2-1 despite going down to 10 men in stoppage them.
They both advance to a six-team preliminary round in the Inter-Confederation play-offs.
From there, two countries will progress to a final play-off phase alongside four nations that receive direct byes.
The Galatasaray management has sent a clear message to clubs interested in signing Victor Osimhen that their top striker is not for sale.
Osimhen has been linked with Arsenal and Al-Hilal this summer transfer window.
Reports emerged that Al-Hilal have entered the race to sign the Nigerian international as they aim to sell former Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema
Also, it was reported that Arsenal have asked about the 27-year-old, with the Gunners and Galatasaray currently in talks over a possible transfer of the Super Eagles attacker.
However, according to Erdem Açıkgöz’s report (via Habersarikirmizi), the Galatasaray management has now responded, insisting, “Our stance is clear; no matter what, we are not selling Osimhen.”
Osimhen joined Galatasaray on a permanent transfer from Napoli last year and helped them to win the Turkish Super Lig for a second consecutive season.
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