Sports
Poor Funding Hampers Basketball Dev
Female basketball players in competition
The Nigeria Basketball
Federation (NBBF) has attributed the challenges facing the sport in the country to the failure of governments to meet their obligations to sports development.
NBBF’s Technical Commissioner, Ajibarede Bello, made the assertion in an interview with newsmen on Saturday, in Asaba, at the ongoing Zenith Bank Female Basketball League.
He said that over the years, basketball in Nigeria had suffered untold hardships due to poor funding and lack of facilities, a situation, he noted, had affected its development.
“It is saddening that governments have failed to meet their obligations to the development of basketball, and other sports which have kept us where we are today in the global sports.
“The development of facilities in the country has been stagnant. Sports development is big business and you cannot achieve success without adequate funding.
“Take for instance, only Dolphins of Port Harcourt among the teams playing in the league have standard training facilities.
“We should not forget that standard facilities are key to sports development,’’ he said.
Bello also lamented the welfare packages for players in the national league, stressing that due to lack of funding, many teams had failed to meet their obligations to players to encourage them.
He observed that many of the players in the league were not placed on salaries, adding that many of them struggled to acquire training kits and other personal effects needed for personal development.
“In terms of players’ development, we are lagging behind because what we have in the league today are just semi-professionals who do not have stable means of livelihood.
“There are no incentives to motivate the players.
“The governments need to step up funding to promote basketball because over the years, Nigeria has remained a basketball powerhouse in Africa.
“Only last year, we were crowned African champions,’’ Bello said.
On the standard of the ongoing tournament, the commissioner said that the federation was impressed with the quality of play, acknowledging the competitiveness of the participating teams.
He said: “The standard of this tournament has been very high because no team is a push over, you can see that everybody is sweating to win.
“We are very impressed with the performances of the teams.’’
Bello, who gave kudos to the Delta Basketball Association for providing the administrative framework for the success of the tournament, also lauded the level of officiating at the tournament.
“As a technical official, I must tell you that officiating at this tournament have been very fair.
“We have no problem with that. We are impressed by the conduct of the officials handling the games,’’ he said.
That in some of the games played on Friday night, First Deep Water beat Oluyole Babes 56-48; Customs defeated AHIP 74-57, while Delta Force beat GT 2000 49-46.
Only Denmark, ranked 21st globally, sits higher among nations that failed to qualify for the tournament, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada.
England and Chelsea legend John Terry was among those to voice his disappointment, describing Nigeria as a significant loss to a tournament that features 48 nations for the first time.
“Nigeria will be a big miss. This is a World Cup for participants who haven’t had the opportunity to play in the tournament. I would have loved to see a top team like Nigeria there because they’ve got some great individuals. They’re a great nation,” Terry said during a virtual roundtable session organised by SuperSport.
“I think they are a big miss because Nigeria probably would have gone further in the competition, but unfortunately, one side’s loss is another’s gain,” the former England captain added.
Eric Chelle’s side finished second in Group C of the CAF World Cup qualifiers behind South Africa, who secured automatic qualification. Nigeria kept their hopes alive with a playoff semi-final victory over Gabon before falling to the Democratic Republic of Congo on penalties in the decisive playoff final — their second successive absence from the World Cup after also missing the 2022 tournament in Qatar.
The Nigeria Football Federation later challenged DR Congo’s qualification, alleging the use of ineligible players during the campaign, but the appeal was dismissed.
Despite missing the World Cup, the Super Eagles remain Africa’s 3rd highest-ranked team behind Morocco, who sit seventh in the world, and Senegal. Algeria and Egypt complete the continent’s top five.
Defending champions Argentina enter the tournament as the world’s top-ranked side, ahead of Spain, France, England and Portugal. Brazil are sixth, followed by Morocco, the Netherlands, Belgium and Germany.
The next FIFA World Ranking will be released on July 20, a day after the World Cup final.
Chima Akachukwu and Miracle Akhigbe are among the 16 notable stars picked by the Nigeria Cricket Federation (NCF) for the forthcoming Namibia Tour, where the YellowGreens will compete in a T20 and 50-Over Tri-Series, featuring hosts Namibia and Hong Kong China.
Both players make their way back into the YellowGreens fold after periods away from the side and will be eager to contribute their experience and quality as Nigeria pursues success in Namibia.
The NCF said yesterday that the squad, which departs Nigeria today, forms part of the national team’s continued preparations for future international assignments as the YellowGreens seek to build on recent performances and strengthen their standing on the global stage.
Leading the squad is Captain Sulaimon Runsewe, who will spearhead Nigeria’s campaign against two formidable opponents in what promises to be a highly competitive series.
The selected squad combines experienced internationals with emerging talents, providing the technical crew an opportunity to assess player development and team combinations in both the T20 and 50-over formats.
The team will be led on tour by Coaches Leke Oyede and Tamuno John, who will oversee preparations and match operations during the opening phase of the series.
Joining the squad later in Namibia will be the newly appointed Head Coach and High Performance Manager, Stephen Magongo, whose arrival marks another significant step in the Federation’s commitment to strengthening the national team structure and enhancing player development pathways.
Supporting the coaching staff are Team Analyst Jamal Okechukwu, Strength and Conditioning Coach Seye Olympio, and Team Physiotherapist Timothy Adesomowo, forming a well-rounded technical crew focused on maximising player performance and welfare throughout the tour.
The NCF views the Namibia Tri-Series as an important platform for the continued growth of the national team, offering valuable international exposure and competitive match experience against quality opposition. The series will provide the players and technical crew with another opportunity to evaluate progress, fine-tune strategies, and build momentum ahead of future international competitions.
The YellowGreens will face Namibia and Hong Kong China in both T20 and 50-over contests, with the matches expected to test the team’s adaptability, discipline, and resilience in challenging conditions.
Blessing Otu on Monday overcame hard-fighting Kelvin Bebe- Emmanuella in two sets of 6-1, 6-3 to qualify for the second round of the women’s singles of the ongoing 47th Central Bank of Nigeria Senior Tennis Championship, held at the Tennis Courts of the package “B” of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Speaking after the round of 32 game, Otu, who will be 19 years old in September, said she capitalised on her opponent’s weaknesses to gain victory, having studied her game very well.
“Bebe is a very good and tough player. But I studied her game and did the job well.
“Although she tried to come back in the second set, I punctured all her tricks to win the match and move on. I wish I could continue like this in the rest of my games,” she said.
Another member of the Otu family, John Out, was also victorious as he defeated Mohammed Abdusalam 2-1 (6-2, 6-7, 6-1) in the men’s singles category to advance into the round of 32.
But the third Otu in the game, Thomas, was not that lucky as he lost by 6-0, 7-5 in two straight sets to Danjuma Isaac.
In other matches, Michael Emmanuel defeated Ibrahim Aminu to advance, while Drimiya Mevi outclassed Seyi Ogunsakin by beating him 2-1 (6-7, 6-3, 6-1). Action continues tomorrow when other top players, including the men’s singles top seed, Abua Cannice, join the chase for honours.