Dr Bruce Ijirigho.
The Organizing Committee for the Future Olympian Athletics Classic has announced a strategic rescheduling of the tournament from the first quarter of 2026 to the last quarter of the year.
The shift aims to transform the competition from a regional trial into a comprehensive national event, ensuring representation from all six geopolitical zones in Nigeria.
In a statement released by project lead Dr. Bruce Ijirigho—the renowned former Team Nigeria captain and Olympic quarter-miler—the committee emphasized that the extra time is vital for crafting a “national plan.”
“Talents abound in every nook and cranny of the country,” Ijirigho stated. “We want to give students in every part of the country opportunities to be discovered. With the postponement, we will be able to widen the tent and give all our youth equal opportunity.”
The initiative is spearheaded by the Youth Sports Renaissance Foundation (YSRF), a non-profit founded by Nigerian track legends Bruce Ijirigho, Godwin Obasogie, and Charlton Ehizuelen. Their mission is to revive the “golden era” of secondary school athletics.
Early discovery towards targeting students strictly in High School to identify talent in their early teens, integrating international workshops to transfer modern techniques to local Games Masters and coaches, reviving the culture of sports scholarships and the successful combination of academics and athletics and preparing athletes to become world beaters by their late teens and early twenties.
Dr. Ijirigho noted that the primary hurdle for Nigerian athletics has been the lack of early opportunity and age-appropriate coaching. By moving to a nationwide format, the YSRF hopes to find the next generation of world-class middle-distance runners, sprinters, and jumpers who currently go unnoticed in underserved regions.
“We have what it takes to dominate athletics in the world,” Ijirigho added with optimism. “All we need to do is get our development programme right.”
The Future Olympian Athletics Classic is now set to kick off in late 2026, marking a major milestone in the effort to return Nigeria to the pinnacle of global track and field.
