2022 Commonwealth Games: Team Nigeria left without kits in Birmingham
British sportswear company forced to hurriedly produce kits for Nigerian contingent
Despite having months to prepare for the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham, the Nigerian story at the Games has commenced with the familiar taste of incompetence. With events already underway in Birmingham, Team Nigeria’s kits are still in production after a hitch in the process.
With the feud that took place between Nigerian Ministry of Sports and Athletics Federation of Nigeria factions, and two sportswear makers during the Tokyo 2020 Olympics still fresh in memory, there appears to be no lessons learned from Team Nigeria’s handlers as they faced another screw-up, this time, from the contracted kit makers.
Nigeria’s kits to the Commonwealth Games were unavailable as the kit makers disappointed the federation, leaving the team’s handlers scrambling for a late replacement with the opening day of events close by.
On Tuesday July 26th, MG Sportswear manager Gino Ruffinato revealed that his firm had received a call to produce hundreds of kits for a team at the Commonwealth Games. He initially thought it was a prank but when orders began to come in emails, he realised that it was real. His company had to produce 200 pieces of kits for the 93-strong contingent to Birmingham between Tuesday and Friday. The Kidderminster-based company is expected to deliver the kits today as the action is already underway.
