Sports
Foundation Gives Scholarships To 60 B’ball Players
Ejike Ugboaja Foundation
has given 60 basketball players scholarship to further their education in the US.
The founder, Mr Ejike Ugboaja, an Olympian, who made this known in Abuja at a news briefing , said that the scholarship would enable the players continue the game of basketball abroad.
Ugboaja said that the 60 basketball players were selected from the over 500 that the foundation kept in camp for three days at the National Stadium, Abuja.
He said that the camping was to help the young players to attain greatness in their career in the sport.
“This is the first phase of the camp mainly for boys between the ages of 12 to 22; the camp is all about giving opportunity to the youth to go to school and continue in sports.
“We select the best, they will to go the US in less than a month, while in the US, it is easy to combine sports and education.
“This is what I have been enjoying and I know they will also benefit from it, so l wish them well as they move on,” he said.
According Ugboaja, 1,000 youths have benefited so far from the scholarship since the foundation was established.
“The foundation was established nine years ago and each year, we send them abroad on scholarship. We invite American Basketball coaches, football coaches and Nigerian coaches to train the youths in the camp,’’ he said.
Ugboaja said that sport governing body and the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) needed to improve on the standard of basketball and other sports in the country.
“The Nigeria basketball is lagging behind, DSTV basketball players are not improving, to me they have been stagnant, if I was still a home player as I used to be, by now I would have stopped playing basketball.
“NBBF has a long way to go in the world of basketball, we have only DSTV that is sponsoring the league, tell me how they can improve with only one organisation doing this,’’ Ugboaja said.
Over 500 young basketball players participated in the three days camp.
The second phase of the camp will hold in July in Lagos and it will be mainly for the female basketball players.
In a statement released by the league, the competition is scheduled to take place from Friday, June 5 to Sunday, June 14, 2026, with six clubs set to battle for the league title at the end of the 2025/26 season.
NWFL Chief Operating Officer, Modupe Shabi, said the choice of Port Harcourt reflects the Rivers State Government’s continued support for women’s football and its successful hosting of the league’s Annual General Assembly last year.
The Super Six tournament will feature the top three teams from Group A and Group B of the regular season competing in a round-robin format, with each club playing five matches over nine days.
Qualified teams for the competition include defending champions Bayelsa Queens, Edo Queens, Rivers Angels, Robo Queens, Nasarawa Amazons, and debutants Abia Angels.
The NWFL Premiership has produced four different winners in the last five editions, with Rivers Angels winning in 2021, Bayelsa Queens claiming the title in 2022 and 2025, Delta Queens triumphing in 2023, and Edo Queens emerging champions in 2024.
The league also urged participating clubs to comply with all competition regulations and directives ahead of the championship. The Super Six will determine Nigeria’s representative for the WAFU-B qualifiers for a place at the 2026 CAF Women’s Champions League and ultimately the 2027 FIFA Women’s Champions Cup.
Teams are expected to arrive on Friday, June 5, when the draw ceremony and pre-match meeting will also take place. Matchdays are scheduled for June 6, 8, 10, 12, and 14, with rest days in between before the tournament concludes with the trophy presentation ceremony.
