As the countdown to the Gangwon 2024 Youth Olympic Games continues, the qualification for the prestigious curling competition has been finalised.

The World Curling Federation, through an official statement on its website, confirmed Nigeria as one of the countries that would feature in both the Mixed Team Championship and Mixed Doubles Championship at next year’s Youth Winter Olympic Games.

Hosts Korea, Brazil, and the United States are among the other countries that would also have representation simultaneously in both the Mixed Team Championship and the Mixed Doubles Championship.

The countries that would be battling for honours in Gangwon secured qualification through different routes.

While some earned qualification through points earned at world championships held in Finland, others sealed their places through regional quotas or as the National Olympic Committee with the most points outside these initial criteria.

President of the Nigeria Curling Federation, Daniel Damola while expressing delight at the official ratification of Nigeria’s qualification, noted that all hands need to be on deck to ensure the country has a memorable outing in Gangwon.

“This is quite historic and we are glad we have been able to qualify as the only team from Africa, now we have to switch our focus to doing respectably well at the Youth Olympic Games,” he said.

Mr Daniel said a lot of funds will be required to give the young lads who would be representing Nigeria the kind of preparation they needed.

“As a federation, we have been doing all these alone but we will need the government, corporate bodies and indeed well-meaning Nigerians to come to our aid as we step up in our preparation for the Youth Olympic Games” he appealed.

The Winter Youth Olympics is billed to take place from 19 Jan 2024 – 1 Feb 2024

Qualified Teams

Mixed Team Championship

The Mixed Team Championship will feature 16 teams from across the globe, with representation from various regions:

Hosts: Korea

Africa: Nigeria

Americas: Brazil, Canada, and the United States

Asia: China and Japan

Europe: Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Norway, Sweden, Switzerland, and Türkiye

Oceania: New Zealand

Mixed Doubles Championship

The Mixed Doubles Championship expands the field, featuring 24 teams from around the world:

Hosts: Korea

Africa: Nigeria

Americas: Brazil, Canada, and the United States

Asia: China, Japan, and Kazakhstan

Europe: Austria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Great Britain, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Norway, Slovenia, Sweden, Switzerland, Türkiye, and Ukraine

Oceania: New Zealand

West Asia Region: Qatar