Team Nigeria has emerged as the highest-ranked African nation at the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland, finishing seventh overall with an impressive haul of 24 medals: 10 gold, seven silver and seven bronze.
The performance placed Nigeria among the top 10 nations at the Games and ahead of every other African country. South Africa finished 11th with 28 medals, including seven gold, while Kenya placed 13th with 12 medals.
Australia topped the final standings with 70 gold medals and 171 medals overall, followed by England and Canada. India finished fourth with 39 medals, while hosts Scotland were fifth. New Zealand took sixth place, one position ahead of Nigeria.
Nigeria’s campaign was marked by a series of historic performances across athletics, weightlifting and para sports. Ezekiel Nathaniel won gold in the men’s 400-metre hurdles, while Samuel Ogazi became the first Nigerian man to win the Commonwealth Games 400-metre title, taking the event in 44.25 seconds.
Chukwuebuka Enekwechi also made history by winning gold in the men’s shot put, while Kanyinsola Ajayi claimed bronze in the men’s 100 metres. Udodi Onwuzurike added silver in the men’s 200 metres, and Temitope Adeshina won bronze in the women’s high jump. Tobi Amusan, despite battling injury, secured bronze in the women’s 100-metre hurdles.
Nigeria’s weightlifters were equally impressive. Edidiong Joseph Umoafia won gold in the men’s 71-kilogram category with a Games record, while Onome Omolola Didih took gold in the women’s 53-kilogram class after setting multiple Games records. Rafiatu Folashade Lawal also successfully defended her Commonwealth title in the women’s 58-kilogram event.
Para sports provided another major source of medals. Goodness Nwachukwu broke her own world record to win gold in the women’s F42 discus, while Esther Nworgu and Folashade Oluwafemiayo produced outstanding performances to win para-powerlifting gold medals. Rilwan Idris also claimed gold, while Roland Ezuruike, Esther Oyema and Rita Ferdinand won silver.
The Glasgow campaign gives Nigeria a strong sporting narrative as the country prepares for another major international sporting occasion later this year, the 2026 Confederation of African Football Awards.
Lagos has been confirmed as host city for the prestigious CAF Awards in December, while Abuja will host the 48th CAF Ordinary General Assembly in October. The hosting rights were approved by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu following a meeting with CAF President Patrice Motsepe at the Africa Forward Summit in Nairobi, Kenya.
The CAF General Assembly is expected to bring together presidents of Africa’s 54 football associations, representatives of the continent’s six zonal unions and senior football administrators. The awards ceremony will return to Nigeria after four consecutive editions in Morocco, with Lagos set to welcome some of the biggest names in African football.
Lekan Fatodu, director-general of the Lagos State Sports Commission, has expressed confidence in the city’s ability to stage the continental football gala, describing Lagos as ready to welcome Africa’s football elite.
The CAF Awards recognise outstanding achievements across African football, with categories including African Player of the Year, Women’s Player of the Year, Young Player of the Year, Coach of the Year, Club of the Year and National Team of the Year.
Nigeria will approach the 2026 ceremony with a strong recent record in the men’s flagship category. Ademola Lookman won the 2024 African Player of the Year award, following Victor Osimhen’s triumph in 2023. Their back-to-back victories made them the first Nigerian pair to win the award in successive years since Nwankwo Kanu and Victor Ikpeba achieved the feat in 1996 and 1997.
Nigeria has previously hosted the CAF Awards, including the 2015 ceremony in Lagos, when Ivorian star Yaya Touré won his fourth consecutive African Player of the Year award and Nigerian forward Asisat Oshoala claimed her first Women’s Player of the Year title.
With Team Nigeria returning from Glasgow as Africa’s top-performing nation and Lagos preparing to host African football’s biggest awards ceremony, 2026 is shaping up as a significant year for Nigeria’s sporting profile.
The Commonwealth Games success has provided the latest evidence of Nigeria’s growing sporting ambitions, while the CAF Awards will offer another opportunity to place the country, and particularly Lagos, at the centre of continental sport, culture and entertainment.
