God Gave Nigeria Historic Beach Volleyball Olympic Ticket — Nimrod

President of the Nigeria Volleyball Federation (NVBF), Engineer Musa Nimrod, has attributed Nigeria’s historic qualification for the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles to divine intervention, saying the achievement ended a 16-year wait for an Olympic ticket.

Nimrod spoke at a special reception and dinner organised by the NVBF at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, to honour Nigeria’s women’s beach volleyball team after their historic qualification.
The team of Esther Mbah and Pamela Bawa secured Nigeria’s first-ever Olympic qualification in beach volleyball after defeating Morocco 2-0 (21-17, 21-10) in the final of the 2026 African Beach Volleyball Nations Championship in Alexandria, Egypt, on Saturday.

Speaking at the reception, Nimrod said Nigeria had come close to qualifying for the Rio 2016, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 Olympic Games, but repeatedly missed the sole available ticket.

“This is the fourth one. I want to say that it is God, not human beings. It is God Almighty who gave us this victory. It is not my own effort, nor anybody’s effort. It is God’s. The glory goes back to God,” he said.
Nimrod disclosed that he personally prayed with the players over the telephone shortly before their decisive encounter against Morocco.

He described the qualification as a landmark achievement for Nigerian volleyball, noting that the sport had been affiliated with the International Volleyball Federation (FIVB) since 1969 without securing an Olympic ticket.

“I’m so happy that even if today I leave volleyball, I’ve achieved what volleyball was registered under FIVB in 1969, and we have not gotten a ticket to go to the Olympics. Now we have gotten the ticket, finally,” he said.

However, the NVBF president warned that the qualification was only the beginning, stressing the need for sustained international exposure ahead of Los Angeles 2028.

He said Mbah and Bawa would need to compete in at least five international World Tour events to improve their ranking and secure favourable seeding at the Olympics.

“They have to do about five World Tours. If they don’t get that ranking very well, they will fall into a very terrible group,” Nimrod explained.

The team received a hero’s welcome upon their return to the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport, Abuja, where NVBF officials, volleyball enthusiasts and supporters gathered to celebrate the historic feat.

Retired Deputy Commissioner of Police and chairman of the NVBF Beach Volleyball Commission, Stephen Hasso, described the achievement as one of the greatest moments of his sporting career.

“Today is my greatest day in sports. That I led a commission, that my team—my beach girls—are the first to get a ticket that will take them to the LA Olympics come 2028,” Hasso said.

He called on the National Sports Commission and other stakeholders to provide the financial backing required to give the players sustained training and international exposure over the next two years.

Meanwhile, the Nigeria Olympic Committee (NOC) president, Engineer Habu Ahmed Gumel, congratulated the players and NVBF, assuring them of the committee’s collaboration with the National Sports Commission and the Federal Government.

Gumel, an International Olympic Committee member and FIVB Finance Commission chairman, stressed that early qualification gave Nigeria sufficient time to prepare.

“Preparation is very, very important, and it is key,” he said.

For Mbah, the reception was an emotional reminder of the achievement’s significance.

“The reception at the airport was really warm, and it made us feel like home appreciates us,” she said.

She said the disappointment of missing out on the Paris 2024 Olympics motivated the pair to return stronger and determined to make history.

“We had to reset and made up our mind to be resilient and go in for this competition because we want to make a name for ourselves and make our country proud,” Mbah said.

With Nigeria’s historic Olympic ticket secured, attention has now shifted to preparations for Los Angeles, with the NVBF expected to intensify efforts to secure international competitions, training opportunities and adequate funding for the players.