Coach Decries LGAs Poor Participation In Basketball

The basketball head coach, Lagos State Sports Council, Olayinka Oyewumi, has decried local governments poor participation in the basketball event of the ongoing Lagos State Sports Festival.

   The festival, tagged: “Ibile Games,’’ was a prelude to the 18th National Sports Festival scheduled for November in Lagos.

   The Games is featuring 25 events including basketball, already registered for the National Sports Festival.

Only 11 out of the 20 local governments and 37 LCDAs in the state participated in the basketball event of the Games.

Oyewumi told newsmen at the Mobolaji Sports Centre, Rowe Park, Yaba, venue of the basketball event, that all the local governments and LCDAs were expected to participate in the event.

“Local government officials in the state do not care about team sports, they only believe in individual games.”

“We had to beg some of them to participate in basketball event of the Games. Out of the 56, we managed to get just 11 which is bad for the Games,” Olayinka said.

He however commended the Lagos State Government on the proper organisation of the Games.

“The festival shows the level of the state’s preparedness for the festival in November,” the coach said.

He said that meanwhile four talents were being discovered in the male senior category of the tournament.

They were: Oliver Joshua and Ebuka Umeanozie of Surulere LGA and Kenneth Nnanna and Julius Samson of Ikoyi-Obalende LCDA.

He advised the discovered players to come out for regular training at the camp after the end of their two weeks break.