ABUJA, NIGERIA — With just five days remaining until the opening of the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympic Games, Nigeria is putting the final touches on its preparations for a historic event that will place Africa at the heart of the global sports movement from October 31 to November 13.
The Games will mark the first-ever Olympic event hosted on African soil, bringing together approximately 2,700 elite young athletes from around the globe.
For Nigeria and its African counterparts, the Games offer a monumental platform to showcase the continent’s rising sporting talent.
Guided by the official motto, “Africa welcomes, Dakar celebrates,” the event provides young athletes with an unprecedented opportunity to test their skills internationally while embodying the Olympic core values of excellence, friendship, and respect.
For Nigeria, participation is a vital step toward strengthening the nation’s youth sports development pipeline, offering emerging talent elite international exposure, and laying the groundwork for future Olympic triumphs.
As the final countdown begins, the National Sports Commission (NSC) and the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) reaffirm their commitment to driving sports development and paving the way for young Nigerian athletes to shine on the world stage.
