Nigeria will be represented by 19 competitors at the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games in Senegal, with the National Sports Commission confirming a delegation made up of 12 female athletes and seven male athletes for the event starting on 31 October.
Nigerian participants will contest medals in athletics, boxing, road cycling, swimming, table tennis and beach volleyball.
Athletics accounts for the biggest share of the Nigerian team, with nine entrants: five women and four men. Swimming will feature four Nigerians, split equally between two women and two men, while table tennis will include one player from each gender. The country will additionally enter a female boxer, a female cyclist in road cycling and a beach volleyball pairing consisting of two women.
The fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games will conclude on 13 November. It will be the first Olympic event ever held in Africa, with competition spread between the Senegalese host areas of Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly.
Diamniadio Olympic Stadium will host the opening ceremony on 31 October, the same day that table tennis and beach volleyball action gets under way.
The delegation is completing a 21-day domestic training camp, which began on 9 October and is scheduled to finish on 29 October. Preparations have included health assessments, anti-doping sessions, technical and tactical work, uniform fittings and arrangements for travel paperwork.
The NSC believes the competition gives promising young sportsmen and women a valuable chance to gain international experience before moving into senior-level events, including future Olympic Games. The commission called on the athletes to convert their months of work into impressive results in Dakar.
