The Nigeria Boxing Federation (NBF), in collaboration with the National Sports Commission (NSC), has released a 23-member delegation comprising six officials and 17 boxers for an international training tour and competition in Canada in early 2027.
According to sources within the NBF and NSC, the Nigerian team has been invited by Legacy Boxing Club in Calgary, Alberta, for a structured training programme designed to strengthen preparations for major international competitions.
The Canada tour is expected to form part of Nigeria’s preparations for the 2027 African Games in Cairo, Egypt, as well as qualification events on the road to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
The team is also expected to participate in sanctioned boxing events organized by Boxing Alberta during its stay in the province.
As part of the programme, members of the Nigerian delegation have been invited by Medicine Hat Boxing Club to compete in the Silver Glove Tournament scheduled for January 23 and 24, 2027, at the Medicine Hat Lodge and Convention Centre in Medicine Hat, Alberta.
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The proposed Canada tour follows an earlier plan for the Nigerian boxing team to travel to the country in early 2026 for training and tournament participation ahead of the 2026 Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, Scotland. That trip, however, reportedly could not take place because of logistical challenges.
National Head Coach of the Nigerian boxing team and Olympian, Gift Otuonye Nsirim, had previously explained that Canada was being considered as a training destination because of the quality of boxing facilities and equipment available at sports centres across the country.
According to the coach, access to modern training facilities is an important part of preparing Nigerian boxers for the demands of international competition.
She noted that Nigeria has talented boxers capable of competing at the highest level, but inadequate access to world-standard boxing equipment and facilities remains a challenge in the preparation of athletes.
The coach therefore argued that exposing Nigerian boxers to high-level training environments abroad could help improve their technical and physical preparation ahead of major international competitions.
The 2027 Canadian tour is consequently expected to provide the boxers with opportunities for intensive training, competitive exposure and interaction with athletes from other boxing programmes.
The development comes as Nigerian boxing authorities continue preparations for the country’s participation in major continental and global competitions. However, publicly available sources currently show conflicting information about the dates of the 2027 African Games: while the information supplied for this report gives August 27–September 19, other recent sources list the Cairo Games for January 20–February 7, 2027, while an African Union decision from February 2026 noted unresolved issues concerning the hosting agreement.
The Canada assignment, if completed as planned, would therefore give the Nigerian boxers an important period of international preparation and competition before the next major qualification cycle.
The Golden Glove and Silver Glove tournaments, alongside the scheduled training programme in Alberta, are expected to form part of the team’s broader development programme as Nigeria seeks to strengthen its presence on the international boxing scene.
