The dedication of increased financial resources to elite athlete development has not prevented Nigeria from experiencing difficulties maintaining podium finishes at domestic and international sports competitions. This paper examines the social and environmental factors that limit consistent athletic achievement among participants in formal talent development Programmes. The article uses the Socioecological Model (SEM) to integrate research evidence across five interdependent domains: individual, interpersonal, institutional, community and policy levels. It is postulated that poor psychosocial support, together with unstable coach-athlete relationships, inadequate school-sport integration, weak community involvement, and inconsistent policy, shows that Nigeria requires an evidence-based, multi-level approach that understands the local context to improve athlete execution and address comparison of international high-performance sport systems indicates that Nigeria needs an evidence-based, multi-level approach that understands the local context to improve athlete execution, act as barriers to athlete development. A comparison of international high-performance sports systems shows that Nigeria requires an evidence-based multi-level approach, practical recommendations to address Nigeria’s performance deficit, and advocacy for athlete-oriented comprehensive development methods that understand the local context to improve athlete support. The study presents practical recommendations to address Nigeria’s performance deficit while advocating for athlete-oriented comprehensive development methods and structural system transformations.