Nigeria Emerges Africa’s Top Nation Again at Glasgow 2026 Despite Reduced Medal Count
Oru Leonard
Team Nigeria once again asserted its dominance on the African sporting stage, finishing as the continent’s highest-ranked country at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow despite recording a lower overall medal haul than at the previous edition.
Nigeria concluded the Games in seventh place on the final medals table with 24 medals comprising 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze, maintaining its status as Africa’s best-performing nation at the multi-sport event.
Although the team fell short of its Birmingham 2022 performance, where it amassed 35 medals, the Glasgow campaign still produced a strong showing against some of the Commonwealth’s traditional sporting powerhouses. The 24-medal return represents 11 fewer medals than four years ago, while the 10 gold medals were two fewer than the 12 won in Birmingham.
Australia topped the medals table with a dominant 70 gold medals, followed by England and Canada. Nigeria finished ahead of several established sporting nations, including Jamaica, Wales, Malaysia and South Africa.
The final standings also reflected Africa’s growing competitiveness, with 13 countries from the continent winning medals at the Games.
South Africa finished 11th with seven gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals, while Kenya placed 13th after securing three gold, four silver and five bronze medals. Mauritius occupied 15th place with one gold, two silver and one bronze, while Cameroon finished 16th with one gold, one silver and three bronze medals.
Uganda ended the Games in 27th place with two silver and one bronze medal, followed by Namibia in 29th with one silver and two bronze medals. Ghana placed 30th with one silver and one bronze.
Other African nations to reach the medals table were Lesotho with two bronze medals, Zambia with two bronze, while Gabon, Rwanda and The Gambia each claimed one bronze medal.
Despite the dip in overall medal numbers, Nigeria’s ability to retain its position as Africa’s leading nation at the Commonwealth Games highlights the country’s enduring strength across multiple sports and provides a solid platform to build on ahead of future international competitions.
