2025 brought sadness and happiness to the world of sport in Nigeria highlighting historic triumphs by women athletes alongside devastating failures by men’s teams with the challenges that continue to plague the sporting sector in nigeria, Bettingvoice writes

STARTING WITH THE GOOD SIDE

D’Tigress’ historic fifth

Nigeria’s women’s basketball team made history by defeating Mali 78-64 in Abidjan winning the fifth consecutive FIBA Women’s AfroBasket title. The victory set the record of  their unbeaten streak to 29 games over 10 years and secured straight qualification for the 2026 FIBA Women’s World Cup.

Amusan’s Tokyo silver

Tobi Amusan the former world champion made another return to the podium at the World Athletics Championships in Tokyo, leading with a  silver in the women’s 100m hurdles.

Bolaji’s badminton brilliance

 Eniola Bolaji is the first ever African from Nigeria to  win an Olympic medal in badminton.

THE BAD SIDE

Youth teams’ collective failure

Nigeria’s youth teams displayed low performance throughout the  year 2025. Starting with the Flamingos who crashed out from  the FIFA U-17 Women’s World Cup in the quarter-finals after losing 4-0 to Italy. The Flying Eagles were also eliminated in the Round of 16, losing 4-0 to Argentina. Most shockingly, the Golden Eaglets five-time world champions failed to qualify for the U-17 AFCON.

THE UGLY STARTING

Infrastructure crisis exposed

CAF disqualified all the stadiums from hosting international matches,  only accepting Godswill Akpabio Stadium in Uyo. This was because Facilities in the above-mentioned stadiums like Enugu, Ibadan, Kano, Kaduna, and Port Harcourt failed to meet the global standard for any sporting activities. Lagos’ National Stadium still remains unused after five years of promised repairs from the government.

The NFF showcase what  they are made of to bring nationwide embarrassment to the nation when FIFA used the sub standard Birnin Kebbi Stadium as its profile banner. The facility was  co-funded at $1.2 million under FIFA’s Forward assistance Programme.

More Accurate tip on : Bigwinprediction

THE WAY FORWARD

With a standard pitch in Uyo, Former Lagos Governor Babatunde Fashola has advocated for a comprehensive master plan to address Nigeria’s sports challenges. Taking maintenance seriously. He outlined five critical reform areas: integrating sports into national development planning, setting pitch for different sport to standard.