Nigeria’s Commonwealth Games squad called a British sportswear maker for help after they were left without any equipment.
To his 14-person staff’s dismay, boss Gino Ruffinato of the MG Sportswear company in a nearby town to host city Birmingham initially assumed it was “a wind-up.”
Eventually, he began receiving emails with actual orders attached. “Hang on, I think this is serious,” he told the BBC at that point.
“There’s a lot of work to be done in two days, including all the fabric, the print, the designs, when the deadline is set for Friday. There were certain moments when I thought I would pass out.”
This included 200 running vests and shorts, staff tracksuits and even 400 Nigerian badges, which his crew had to produce after the African side claimed that suppliers had let them down.
Ruffinato described the situation as “panic stations,” but he and his employees were up for the challenge.
He promised to devote even more attention to the Games once he helped those in need.
When asked about seeing the MG Sportswear brand on a national team, he quipped, “I still pinch myself.”
What can I say but, “Wonderful!”