Fresh Scandal Hits Team Nigeria as Beach Volleyball Champions Exit Angola Abruptly Amid Age‑Cheating Claims
Nigeria’s beach volleyball team has been swept into fresh controversy at the African Youth Games in Angola, just days after winning gold.
The champions, now at the centre of allegations of fielding overaged athletes, have already left Luanda amid fears that their medal could be withdrawn.
The development comes at a time when Nigerian sports authorities are still grappling with an inquiry from the Athletics Integrity Unit over allegations involving 17 Nigerian athletes, 16 of whom competed at the African U18 and U20 Championships in Abeokuta last May.
The latest scandal has added yet another layer of scrutiny to Nigeria’s youth sports system.
The beach volleyball team had barely celebrated their victory at the 4th African Youth Games when an opposing team lodged a protest, claiming Nigeria used players above the approved age limit.
The allegation triggered the formation of an investigative panel, prompting the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) to submit documents to tournament organisers for verification.
However, the NOC challenged the process, insisting that no formal protest had been filed as required by competition rules.
Under standard procedure, a written complaint must be submitted before any medical age verification tests can be ordered for both the accused and the accusers. In this case, only Nigeria was singled out for testing, despite the absence of a formal complaint.
With the situation escalating and the legitimacy of the investigation in question, the Nigerian contingent opted to withdraw cooperation. According to NOC officials, the team has now returned home after completing their events.
‘We suspended cooperation with the medical investigative team as they failed to establish formal grounds for the investigation,’ an NOC official said, defending the decision to pull back.
A member of the Games’ medical committee, however, suggested that Nigeria had largely cooperated before tensions rose, hinting that the situation may not be as clear‑cut as it appears.
The controversy now hangs over Nigeria’s gold medal, with the final decision resting in the hands of the Games’ organisers.
