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IOC rejects Nigeria's plea to raise relay team to 24 By Guardian TEAM Nigeria's hopes of getting the 4x100 metres men and women teams to participate in the Beijing Olympics failed over the weekend as the International Olympics Committee (IOC) threw out the nation's appeal for an increase in the number of relay teams to participate in the event from 16 to 24. Also, Team Nigeria's athletes that were supposed to leave for South Korea over the weekend could not do so due to reported disagreement between the Chairman of the National Sports Commission (NSC) and his principal officers over the choice of travel agents. Whereas the NSC officials favour the commission's traditional travel agent that normally sell tickets to the body, even when it is not liquid, athletes who are victims of power play between the NSC chairman and his officials allege that the chairman favours another travel agent. This led to the cancellation of the trip over the weekend. While some of the athletes have vowed to stop training, a few that have the means, including Blessing Okagbare, have dumped the camp and departed for the United States. The athletes' inability to travel have further compounded the nation's chances of winning medals in Beijing, having lost some already by failing to qualify for women 4x100 metres, which was a clear chance for medals. Nigeria's failure to qualify for the relays was bungled by the officials of Athletics Federation of Nigeria (AFN), who could not ensure that athletes participate in enough meets to qualify for Beijing. The top 16 ranked relay teams as at July 16 are eligible to compete in the Games. Nigeria can only present two of the four relay spots at the Games - the men 4x100 and women 4x400 metres teams. No African country is in the top 16 in the women's 4x100 metres, where Nigeria ranks highest in number 17 and Ghana 20th. The Damola Osayomi-led quartet was expected to compete in Greece last Monday in an IAAF-approved final qualifying meet for the Games but visa complications ensured that the girls did not embark on the journey. Last minute effort by AFN President, Violent Odogwu-Nwajei, failed to yield any positive result as the girls, assured of getting their visas at the port of entry in Athens, could not get any airline to fly them from Lagos. The AFN also made frantic efforts last week to ensure that the 4x100 men and women teams get a lane each in the final qualifying race in the Luzern Spitzeleichathelik in Lucern, Switzerland, last Wednesday but it was another exercise in futility. The meeting in Lucern does not have slots for both teams in its schedule, as the meet's organiser, Terry McHueh, confirmed: "I'm sorry the IAAF only approved the men's 4x100 metres for us and we have not received any expression of interest in participating from Nigeria." He added that apart from the Cameroun, which made contact but was having visa problems, other countries that have been confirmed a long time ago would be competing. "The IAAF sent Cameroun's letter to us and as I speak with you, they are having problems securing an entry visa," he said. "I have asked them to send me the passport numbers of their athletes and other details so that I can help arrange with the Swiss Immigration. "The countries that applied a long time ago and have been confirmed are Brazil, Canada, Switzerland (host), Holland, Ghana and Azerbaijan." Apart from Brazil and Canada, which have qualified for the Games, the others are hoping to use the meet to secure their passage to Beijing. It was when all these efforts had failed that NSC Director General, Amos Adamu, contacted IAAF President, Lamine Diack, to see the possibility of increasing the list of qualifiers from 16, set a long time ago in agreement with the IOC, to 24. Diack passed the request to the IOC, which turned down Nigeria's request. Adamu said yesterday that the NSC was trying all it could to ensure that the team made it to Beijing, and that now that all efforts had failed, the NSC would turn attention to grassroots development after the Games. "You know it is not the responsibility of NSC to embark on grassroots development, it is the states and the local governments, but since they are not doing it, we will start from where we stopped with the relays after the Games," Adamu said.
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