BY JOSEPH ODOEKWU
The second edition of the West Africa U18 baseball tournament is set to kick-off in Lagos, Nigeria, with three other nations already confirmed to take part in the two-day tournament which will take place in Nigeria after the maiden edition was hosted by Ghana in May 2023.
According to the Acting Secretary-General of the Nigeria Baseball & Softball Association Mr. Robert Onwuke, he revealed to this writer that defending champions Ghana will be on ground their title, while Benin Republic and Tunisia have also confirmed their participation with the three countries sending in their team list.
However, Cote D’Ivoire and Senegal who earlier indicated interest to participate did not send in their delegate team roster as at deadline and this automatically rules them out of taking part in the tournament.
The event will begin on Friday with the arrival of other participating countries, after which the pitch test/technical committee meeting takes place the same day. The game proper will begin on Saturday August 17th and end on Sunday, August 18th at the National Institute for Sports Gymnasium Sports Complex inside the national stadium in Surulere, Lagos.
Nigeria’s baseball team who are currently camping in Ilorin, Kwara State will be expected in Lagos on Wednesday with Coach Adekunle Ayodele looking forward to leading the 8-man squad of four males and four females in the event.
Nigeria’s female team have players such as Olusayo T. Faith, Kayode I. Mary, Ogbu A. Joy and Galadima Philemon Blessing, while the male team will have Musa I. Ayomide, Martins E. Omololu, Oseni Abdukodir Alabi and Fayemi Emmanuel.
Onwukwe further stated that the initiative for the tournament according to the World Baseball and Softball Confederation African President, Mr. Albert K. Frimpong is to strengthen all the regions in Africa by activating participation in the qualification to the centre for continental qualifier to the World Cup which comes up in 2025.
So far, Uganda emerged champions of the Eastern region comprising Uganda, Kenya and Tanzania while South Africa emerged champions in the Southern region tournament comprising South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana and Lesotho.
