Nigeria finish Commonwealth Games as Africa’s best nation

Okorie  credits leadership, athlete welfare for Glasgow 2026 feats

Team Nigeria ended the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow as Africa’s highest-ranked nation, closing the Games with 24 medals including 10 gold, 7 silver and 7 bronze  to top the continent’s standings ahead of South Africa, Kenya and 11 other African countries that won at least one medal.

The tally fell short of Nigeria’s return at the 2022 Birmingham Games, where the country won 35 medals, including 12 golds. Australia topped the overall table with 70 gold medals, ahead of England and Canada, while Nigeria finished above established sporting nations including Jamaica, Wales, Malaysia and South Africa.

Athletics  Federation of Nigeria(AFN) Performance Director and Athletes Liaison, Victor Okorie, said Nigeria’s gold-medal count was more significant than the raw comparison to Birmingham suggested, noting that Glasgow 2026 featured only 10 sports on the programme, against roughly 19 to 20 sports at previous editions.

“When this achievement is viewed in its proper context, Glasgow 2026 stands as an exceptional Commonwealth Games campaign for Nigeria,” Okorie said. “It is a triumph of quality over quantity, excellence over circumstance and determination over limitation.”

Okorie credited the National Sports Commission’s leadership, commending NSC Chairman Shehu Dikko and Director-General Bukola Olopade for their focus on athlete welfare and high-performance development. He also thanked President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for the Federal Government’s support of Nigerian sports.

Okorie said the Glasgow campaign should serve as a foundation rather than a peak, urging continued investment ahead of the Los Angeles 2028 Olympic Games. “Glasgow 2026 is not the finish line; it is the beginning of a new era for Nigerian sports,” he said.

The National Sports Commission said it would now turn its attention to building a stronger high-performance system as it prepares Nigerian athletes for Los Angeles 2028.

South Africa finished 11th  overall with 7 gold, 11 silver and 10 bronze medals.

Kenya placed 13th with three gold, four silver and five bronze, while Mauritius took 15^th  with one gold, two silver and one bronze. Cameroon finished 16th with one gold, one silver and three bronze. Uganda (27^th ) and Namibia (29^th ) each won two silver and one bronze, and one silver and two bronze respectively, while Ghana (30^th ) took one silver and one bronze. Lesotho, Zambia, Gabon, Rwanda and The Gambia each won a single bronze medal.