Nigeria competed in the 2003 All-Africa Games held at the National Stadium in the city of Abuja. It was the eighth time that the country had taken part in the games and expectations were high for the competitors as they were playing on home soil. 2003 was the second time that Nigeria hosted the games, as the 1973 All-Africa Games had been held in Lagos thirty years before. The country did extremely well and achieved a commanding first place in the medal table. The team left with a total of 240 medals, of which 85 were gold medals and 90 silver, a tally that remained unmatched until 2019.