Team Nigeria hope Aberdeen fuels successful Games

Team Nigeria athletes hope preparations in Aberdeen can propel them to a successful Commonwealth Games in Glasgow this summer.

Athletes across several sports have spent the past three weeks training at Aberdeen Sports Village before they travel south for the Games, which start on 23 July.

Nigeria - who are ninth in the all-time Commonwealths medal table with 271 - will compete in weightlifting, para powerlifting, track and field, 3x3 basketball, swimming, boxing and judo.

After winning 34 medals in Birmingham in 2022, second vice-president of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria Aku Aghazu is confident of an even better showing this time around.

"Of course we are going to top it, you've seen what we are doing in practice," she told BBC Scotland.

"God willing and blessed in our efforts we are going to top it by a lot of gold."

The decision to base themselves in the north-east was not only influenced by the city's sports facilities, but also by Aberdeen's strong Nigerian community.

Aghazu says the team plan to build closer links with the city during their stay.

"We have been hearing that there are a lot of Nigerians around here but because [the athletes] are so secluded, we haven't had the opportunity to go and mingle," she said.

"We planned that so that they can focus on their training but we hope before we leave that we have the opportunity to engage with them."

According to census data, Aberdeen is home to the largest community of Nigerians in Scotland with approximately 5,600 residents making up 2.5% of the city's population.

Alongside the community connection, the athletes also spoke positively about the facilities in Aberdeen.

F42 discus world record holder Goodness Chiemerie Nwachukwu told BBC Sport Scotland: "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."

With the Games now just days away, certain athletes reflected on the journeys that have brought them to this stage.

Three-time world champion Paralympic powerlifter Folashade Oluwafemiayo was diagnosed with polio as a young child and says sport helped her to embrace her disability.

"Before I got into sport, I was discouraged because of my disability," she said.

"When I was three years old, my mum told me I have polio, so I was given injections.

"You know when you are coming up as a physically challenged person, there is discrimination in your society, sometimes you feel very down but coming together and mingling with people that love you, you find out that you pick up yourself."