Air Peace has said it would honour the Team Nigeria athletes that led the other 27 African countries to boycott the 1976 Olympic Montreal Games hosted by Canada.
The airline in a statement by Stanley Olisa, its Spokesman said that the honour is coming up 47 years after the incident.
According to him, the athletes would be honoured on July 28, 2023.
He also said that the 1980 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winning squad would also be honoured with listing in the newly created Nigerian Institute of International Affairs Sports Diplomacy Wall of Fame in addition to cash rewards from Barr. Allen Onyema, the Chairman, Air Peace.
Olisa said that the airline unveiled the plan to honour the former footballers and athletes who sacrificed their lives for the country over the weekend in Lagos.
Onyema stressed that he was motivated to carry out the Wall of Fame project as a way to honour the athletes for their huge sacrifices.
Onyema said: “We promised to build a Wall of Fame where their names will be written in gold. I also enjoin other corporate organisations and well-meaning individuals to join in honouring these sports heroes however they can. We are talking about Nigerian athletes who used their prime to serve this country.
“They arrived Montreal, Canada and just on the eve of the opening ceremony, were asked to pack their bags and leave camp because Nigeria and the rest of Africa had resolved to boycott the Games as a result of the support some countries were giving apartheid in South Africa. The AFCON Team of 1980 will also be recognised for their feat.
“The 1976 athletes had prepared for four years. Some were on top of their events like Charlton Ehizuelen, Imadiyi, Bruce Ijirigho and our 4x400m men’s relay team that were sure gold or silver medal hopefuls. In fact, Ehizuelen had the world leading jump to the Olympics. They jettisoned their dreams because of Nigeria. Most didn’t recover and never had the opportunities to become Olympic medalists again in their lifetime. These former athletes and the 1980 AFCON winning squad are those to be honoured as Air Peace Sports Diplomacy Ambassadors come July 28, 2023.
Onyema, apart from listing the athletes in the Wall of Fame, also pledged to give some cash rewards as well as flight tickets to each of those still alive – 12 return tickets to local destinations and one return ticket annually to any of the airline’s international destinations.
Former Green Eagles Captain, Chief Segun Odegbami, who was also in the 1976 football team to the Montreal Games, commended Onyema for his massive contributions to Nigeria’s sports development, especially his sponsorship of the Nigerian National Teams in a deal with the NFF.