{"version":"1.0","provider_name":"Mathematical 7","provider_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7","title":"Nigerian Sport - never been this bad! - Mathematical 7","type":"rich","width":600,"height":338,"html":"<blockquote class=\"wp-embedded-content\" data-secret=\"idFxUdxkiE\"><a href=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/nigerian-sport-never-been-this-bad\/\">Nigerian Sport &#8211; never been this bad!<\/a><\/blockquote><iframe sandbox=\"allow-scripts\" security=\"restricted\" src=\"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/nigerian-sport-never-been-this-bad\/embed\/#?secret=idFxUdxkiE\" width=\"600\" height=\"338\" title=\"&#8220;Nigerian Sport &#8211; never been this bad!&#8221; &#8212; Mathematical 7\" data-secret=\"idFxUdxkiE\" frameborder=\"0\" marginwidth=\"0\" marginheight=\"0\" scrolling=\"no\" class=\"wp-embedded-content\"><\/iframe><script type=\"text\/javascript\">\n\/* <![CDATA[ *\/\n\/*! This file is auto-generated *\/\n!function(d,l){\"use strict\";l.querySelector&&d.addEventListener&&\"undefined\"!=typeof URL&&(d.wp=d.wp||{},d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage||(d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage=function(e){var t=e.data;if((t||t.secret||t.message||t.value)&&!\/[^a-zA-Z0-9]\/.test(t.secret)){for(var s,r,n,a=l.querySelectorAll('iframe[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),o=l.querySelectorAll('blockquote[data-secret=\"'+t.secret+'\"]'),c=new RegExp(\"^https?:$\",\"i\"),i=0;i<o.length;i++)o[i].style.display=\"none\";for(i=0;i<a.length;i++)s=a[i],e.source===s.contentWindow&&(s.removeAttribute(\"style\"),\"height\"===t.message?(1e3<(r=parseInt(t.value,10))?r=1e3:~~r<200&&(r=200),s.height=r):\"link\"===t.message&&(r=new URL(s.getAttribute(\"src\")),n=new URL(t.value),c.test(n.protocol))&&n.host===r.host&&l.activeElement===s&&(d.top.location.href=t.value))}},d.addEventListener(\"message\",d.wp.receiveEmbedMessage,!1),l.addEventListener(\"DOMContentLoaded\",function(){for(var e,t,s=l.querySelectorAll(\"iframe.wp-embedded-content\"),r=0;r<s.length;r++)(t=(e=s[r]).getAttribute(\"data-secret\"))||(t=Math.random().toString(36).substring(2,12),e.src+=\"#?secret=\"+t,e.setAttribute(\"data-secret\",t)),e.contentWindow.postMessage({message:\"ready\",secret:t},\"*\")},!1)))}(window,document);\n\/\/# sourceURL=https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-includes\/js\/wp-embed.min.js\n\/* ]]> *\/\n<\/script>\n","thumbnail_url":"https:\/\/mathematical7.com\/m7\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/06\/Chukwu_and_Fregene_2.jpg","thumbnail_width":488,"thumbnail_height":375,"description":"These are very dreary times for Nigerian sports. For those of us that have been a part of several generations, the pain is deep.I was an active participant at the highest level from the mid 1970s when Nigerian sports were on a global ascendancy, when Nigeria started an authentic dominance of Africa in Track and Field, table tennis, (lawn) tennis, boxing, weightlifting and wrestling, joined the elite forces in African football at the African Cup of Nations in\u00a0Dire Dawa,\u00a0and went to the Montreal Olympic games with some of the best athletes in the world in different events and sports (in Track and Field, and\u00a0\u00a0amateur boxing) with realistic chances of carting away some medals.\u00a0 It is very painful to wake up every week these days, particularly as I write my column, to the reality of the horror that has become the present state of Nigerian sports. Take the past week for example. Nigerian athletes just returned from the World Relays in Japan. The event was the qualifying meet for 2020 in Tokyo, Japan. The Technical Director of the Athletics Federation of Nigeria, AFN, who was with the contingent reported that they were humiliated by the organisers through the poor treatment meted openly only to the Nigerian team. He described the reception as \u2018third class\u2019, and the major cause of the team\u2019s woeful performance and failure to record even a single win.\u00a0\u00a0Unlike all the other teams, Nigeria was taken very far away from the venue and the centre of activities and accommodated in a very low-class hotel. But why?"}