3 Days to Go: 19 athletes to Represent Nigeria in Six Sports at Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games
Oru Leonard
With just three days to the commencement of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Team Nigeria is putting finishing touches to its preparations ahead of the historic global sporting event, which begins in Senegal on 31 October.
Nigeria will be represented by 19 athletes, comprising 12 women and seven men, across six sports: athletics, boxing, road cycling, swimming, table tennis and beach volleyball.
The fourth edition of the Summer Youth Olympic Games will run until 13 November 2026, marking the first time an Olympic sporting event will be hosted on African soil.
The Games will take place across three host zones in Senegal, namely Dakar, Diamniadio and Saly, with thousands of young athletes from across the world expected to compete for honours.
Athletics will account for Nigeria’s largest contingent with nine athletes, comprising five women and four men.
Swimming will feature four Nigerian athletes, two women and two men, while table tennis will have two representatives, a male and a female athlete. Nigeria will also field one female boxer, one female road cyclist and a two-athlete women’s beach volleyball team.
The Nigerian contingent is currently undergoing final preparations following a 21-day local camping programme that commenced on 9 October and is scheduled to conclude on 29 October.
The programme has included medical screening, anti-doping education, technical and tactical training, kit fitting, travel documentation and final team preparations ahead of departure.
The opening ceremony will hold on 31 October at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium, with competitions in table tennis and beach volleyball also scheduled to begin on the same day.
The Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games provide an important platform for Nigeria’s emerging athletes to gain valuable international exposure, compete against some of the best young talents in the world and build experience towards future senior-level competitions, including the Olympic Games.
As the countdown enters its final four days, the NSC urged the Nigerian contingent to make the country proud in Dakar, and translate months of preparation into impressive performances on the continental and global stage.
(Kola Daniel, SA to DG NSC, 27 October 2026)
