Joe Apu
The Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF on Monday got the tacit support of the Minister of Youth and Sports Development, Sunday Dare towards the Olympic Qualifiers for Women and the men’s participation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
The minister who met with the Executive Board of the Nigeria Basketball Federation led by Musa Kida in Abuja on Monday, while congratulating the NBBF for the landmark achievements of the NBBF so far, promised that he would ensure that the ministry does its best to help the board get the necessary backing it requires to excel.
Key among issues discussed at the meeting is preparations for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics and training plan for the male basketball team D’Tigers, who have secured a ticket and the Women’s team D’Tigress, with three more games in the qualifiers.
The Minister expressed excitement over the qualification of the D’Tigers for the Olympics and pledged the ministry’s support towards NBBF’s preparation for the games.
According to the minister, “Nigerians are now beginning to take note of the excellent performance of the various basketball teams and are eager for more.”
While addressing the board members present, the Minister tasked the Musa Kida led federation to double their efforts to achieve more successes on the international stage.
In his response, the NBBF President thanked the minister for his support throughout the World Cup in China while expressing gratitude to President Muhammadu Buhari for his support.
“We’re glad that the president watched the games on TV and took time out of his busy schedule to congratulate the men’s team after their qualification for the Olympics as well as the 2019 FIBA Afrobasket winning feat of the D’Tigress in Senegal.”
Kida reminded the minister about the women’s qualifiers for the Olympics starting in November.
There were also discussions on NBBF’s financial situation with a view to exploring new funding options as well as a report submitted by NBBF in response to a request by the ministry.
The meeting according to the ministry is part of the ongoing drive by the Minister to get all federations on the same page ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games.
Kida said the various leagues were on course while announcing the commencement of the Men’s Premier League in October which will enable Nigeria to present a team for the newly introduced Basketball Africa League to be organized by AIBA Africa and the NBA.