Paris 2024: Nigeria name 12-man squad for historic Olympic Rugby ticket
Stephen Lewis, the head coach of the Nigeria Rugby Sevens national team (the Black Stallions), has released a 12-man squad for the African Cup Sevens Tournament scheduled to take place in Zimbabwe from 16th – 17th September 2023.
The two-day tournament consists of twelve teams grouped into three pools of four teams each and will serve as the final qualifiers for the 2024 Summer Olympic Games in Paris, France.
Black Stallions co-captains, Declan Nwachukwu and Olukolade Awobowale, top the final list that was announced by Lewis on Wednesday. Also included in the roster are Gabriel John Etim, Matthew Ilube, and Oluwadara Odunlami.
Richard Adeniyi-Jones, Frederick Henry-Ajudua, Onoru-Oyiza Jatto, Pierre Goualin, Oghaneyoleme Macaulay, David Aniebonah, and Aristide Goualin, are all in contention for action in the qualifiers.
For the tournament, Nigeria is placed in Pool B alongside Kenya, Zambia and Namibia; South Africa, Madagascar, Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire occupy Pool A while Pool C consists of hosts Zimbabwe, Uganda, Burkina Faso and Algeria.
The winner of the tournament will automatically qualify for the Rugby Sevens men’s event for the Paris Games while the second and third place teams enter the Olympic Repechage.
The Final Olympic Repechage Tournament will be held between the end of the Regional Qualification process and 23 June 2024, serving as the secondary route for countries to participate in the Paris Games.
Blacks Stallions are camping at a training centre in Harare for the final phase of camp as they prepare to go against all odds and tango the best teams on the continent, to secure a historic Olympic Rugby ticket.
We have recently deactivated our website's comment provider in favour of other channels of distribution and commentary. We encourage you to join the conversation on our stories via our Facebook, Twitter and other social media pages.
More from Peoples Gazette
Agriculture
FG tasks ECOWAS on leveraging financing strategies for agroecology
The federal government has urged stakeholders in the agriculture and finance sectors in the West Africa region to leverage financing strategies to enhance agroecology practices
Politics
Katsina youths pledge to deliver over 2 million votes to Atiku
“Katsina State is Atiku’s political base because it is his second home.”
Economy
CBN faces growth-inflation dilemma as MPC meets amid calls to hold or cut rates
Most economists expect the MPC to leave the MPR, the benchmark interest rate, unchanged at 26.5 per cent when it announces its decision on Tuesday.
Diaspora
Canada warns Nigerians, other nationals against immigration scammers
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued a scam alert on Sunday, warning the public against paying “fees for a chance to be sponsored”.
Rights
40 children, women drown in Jigawa boat crash
A boat carrying dozens of passengers capsized in the Malamawa community, Ringim council area of Jigawa, leaving at least 40 people drowned.
Heading 2
Osun governorship poll gathers momentum amid pre-election violence
Mr Adeniran said political thuggery was still dominant in the state despite efforts of security agents to check criminal activities.
States
Lightning strike kills six people in Adamawa
The police command in Adamawa has confirmed the death of six people following a lightning strike in the Ganye council.
States
Cross River govt exempts women, elderly drivers from vehicle registration, levies
The Cross River government has exempted women in commercial transport and men aged 60 and above from paying vehicle registration and daily operational levies.
