Three weeks. Seven sports. One major competition just days away.
For the past few weeks, Aberdeen Sports Village has been a hub of international sporting activity, with Team Nigeria using ASV as a base for their final preparations ahead of the Glasgow 2026 Commonwealth Games.
From athletics and swimming to weightlifting and para powerlifting, athletes have been putting in their final weeks of training before heading south to compete on the international stage.
Preparing for Glasgow in the Granite City
When the Commonwealth Games begin on 23 July, Nigeria will compete across seven sports: athletics, swimming, weightlifting, para powerlifting, 3x3 basketball, boxing and judo.
Nigeria sits ninth in the all-time Commonwealth Games medal table, with 271 medals, and won 34 at Birmingham 2022.
Having access to high-quality facilities in one city has allowed athletes across different disciplines to focus on those important final weeks of preparation.
At ASV, they’ve been training across facilities used every day by our members, clubs and local athletes.
A wider Aberdeen welcome
The team’s stay hasn’t just been about what happens inside ASV.
Nigeria’s boxing squad has been training at Granite City ABC, sparring alongside local boxers as they prepare for Glasgow.
There’s another important connection too. Aberdeen is home to Scotland’s largest Nigerian community, with around 5,600 Nigerian residents recorded in the most recent census.
For a national team thousands of miles from home, that gives their time in the city an added significance.
“One of the best facilities and training tours so far”
For the athletes, these final weeks are about arriving in Glasgow ready to perform.
F42 discus world record holder Goodness Chiemerie Nwachukwu is among those preparing in Aberdeen.
Speaking to BBC Sport Scotland, she said:
“This is one of the best facilities and training tours so far, so I'm happy for my country making everything so perfect for us”
The team also includes three-time world champion Paralympic powerlifter Folashade Oluwafemiayo, while second vice-president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, Aku Aghazu, is confident Nigeria can build on its success at Birmingham 2022.
She told BBC Sport Scotland.
“Of course we are going to top it, you've seen what we are doing in practice”
Bringing international sport to Aberdeen
Hosting Team Nigeria is about more than having international athletes training in the building. It shows the role facilities like ASV can play at every level of sport.
The same tracks, pools and training spaces used by local children, community clubs, students and our members can also support athletes preparing to represent their country on one of sport’s biggest stages.
It’s also created connections between athletes, local sporting organisations and communities across Aberdeen – while giving our members and staff a glimpse behind the scenes of preparations for a major international competition.
Next stop: Glasgow
After three weeks of preparation, attention now turns to the Games.
Team Nigeria will soon head south to Glasgow, where competition gets underway on 23 July.
For us, there’ll be an extra team to keep an eye on.
We’ve been proud to welcome Team Nigeria to ASV and support their preparations. We wish the athletes, coaches and wider team all the very best in Glasgow and look forward to following their progress.
