2024 Olympians Confirm Receipt of N8.4m as Athletes Urge Ministry to Fulfill $1,000 Training Grant Promise

2024 Olympians Confirm Receipt of N8.4m as Athletes Urge Ministry to Fulfill $1,000 Training Grant Promise

By Niyi Busari

Home-based athletes who represented Nigeria at the 2024 Olympics in France have called on the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, to fulfill the promise of a $1,000 training grant. 

Despite assurances from the Minister that all financial obligations would be settled before athletes departed France, BSN Sports' independent interviews reveal discrepancies in the disbursement of funds. Some athletes and coaches report not receiving their full entitlements, highlighting a significant disparity in payments.

A home-based athlete stated, "We received two million, one hundred and seventy thousand naira (N2,170,000) as training allowance and six million, two hundred thousand naira (N6,200,000) as an appearance fee for the 2024 Olympics. However, the $1,000 training grant has yet to be paid."

Another athlete added, "I have not received the training grants for my two-week training in Germany, but I can confirm receipt of the training allowance and appearance fee, totaling eight million, three hundred and seventy thousand naira (N8,370,000). I understand professional athletes were paid $5,000 as training grants, but I'm yet to receive mine."

After several failed attempts, BSN Sports managed to speak with a foreign-based athlete who, under the condition of anonymity, disclosed, "This is a top secret; we were instructed not to discuss money matters with anyone. I received $4,000 as an appearance fee for the 2024 Olympic Games, while others received $4,500 as training grants. However, some athletes are still waiting for their payments."

Further investigation revealed that foreign athletes were slated to receive $5,000, while home-based athletes were promised $1,400 as training grants. Each athlete was also to receive funds covering training grants (for a two-week training period in Germany), training allowances (expenses incurred during Olympic qualifiers), and appearance fees.

Repeated attempts to obtain a response from the Ministry of Sports, including messages to the Minister of Sports Development, Senator John Enoh, the Director of Press, Kehinde Ajayi, and the Special Adviser on Media to the Minister, Diana Mary, have gone unanswered.