Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has reiterated its unflinching commitment towards holding a successful FIBA Pre-Olympic Qualifiers starting Monday, August 14, and is expected to end August 20, 2023, in Lagos.
Towards staging a near flawless tournament, the NBBF board led by Engr. Ahmadu Musa Kida have turned on all the buttons and tightened all necessary screws with top of the range preparations and provisions of world class facilities at the 5 star Eko Hotel and suites central convention center.
NBBF explained that the tournament is taking place at the highbrow Eko Hotels Convention Centre, due to the current state and unavailability of Indoor Sports Hall of the National Stadium, Surulere, Lagos.
The qualification tournament which planned to feature eight countries, namely Tunisia, Cameroon, Guinea, Mali, Senegal, Uganda, DR Congo and host Nigeria, would now feature six teams with the last minute unexpected withdrawal of Uganda and DR.Congo.
Despite the withdrawal of the two countries and the attendant disappointment to the ever-growing basketball fans who are expected to throng the venue of the games, NBBF maintained that it is undaunted and totally committed to staging a successful tournament.
NBBF, invites basketball loving Nigerians to come watch, enjoy and cheer the D’Tigers to victory during the games, that are expected to be keenly contested, and in a beautiful ambience. Adding that it would be a sweet mix of music, dance and glamour with excitement moments during the games.
The NBBF also expressed its total appreciation to the Federal Government of Nigeria for securing the Olympic pre-qualifiers hosting right for Nigeria, and the huge efforts that the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development is putting towards securing Mr President’s approval and release of all the funds used to participate in all its tournaments this year, that are pending before Mr President,till now.
NBBF, therefore, emphasised the need for and importance of adequate funding, even as it is making a passionate appeal to the government to ensure a speedy release of all its pending funds expended by the board to execute many of its recent programmes, including that of the victorious and successful outing of D’Tigress at the just concluded Afrobasket championship in Kigali, Rwanda, and other long outstanding liabilities.
