Basketball
WITH PLANS FOR 109 COURTS, BASKETBALL BOARD THANKS NIGERIAN GOVERNMENT
The Nigeria Basketball Federation has thanked the Federal Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports for its support to funding and approval of its programs which has seen the continued rise of the game in Nigeria.
During a courtesy call on the Minister of Youth and Sports, Sunday Dare upon arrival from the 2021 Afrobasket qualifiers in Rwanda, the federation said the unparalleled support has made administering basketball easier.
Represented by its President, Musa Kida on Tuesday, the board said, it was there to appreciate and brief the Minister and other high ranking Ministry officials about their Kigali experience and convey the goodwill messages of the coaching crew and players to the minister.
“I came here to personally brief the Honourable Minister about Kigali. Kigali was the first window for Afrobasket 2021 qualifiers.
“I brought in very glad tidings of our successes in beating all the teams we faced, but more importantly I brought the glad tidings of NBBF and the new Technical crew headed by Mike Brown from the Golden States Warriors.
“He is looking forward to meeting the minister. He understood very clearly with his team that the minister had to stay for more urgent national matters but he asked me specifically to send a very personal message
“As we all know, Mike Brown is one of the best coaches in the world, but additionally, I came to personally thank the Minister of the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports for allowing the Permanent Secretary to also represent him in Kigali which he did ably.
“For us, it shows the support that we have consistently enjoyed from the ministry and the government and we look forward to the continued support.”
In his repose, the Minister commended the NBBF board for putting smiles on the faces of Nigerians as he declared that basketball has come to stay in Nigeria.
“Beyond football, Nigerians have talents and competence in other sports. Our ascendancy in basketball is no longer stoppable. It has been proven; we are African champions in both the men and women with both qualifying for the Olympics.
“It has never happened before. Beyond football and athletics, clearly, basketball as a game has arrived in this country and we are a dominant force in the world.
“We are happy because we are in the hands of good administrators and managers of our teams because beyond the talents we put together, you also need people to manage them. These are the people that have set their eyes on greater glory, podium performance and I am sure so many other Nigerians join basketball revolution”, Dare said.
He seized the occasion to announce a partnership between the Federal Ministry of Sports and the NBBF to have at least one basketball court in each senatorial district across the country.
For him, it is essential that kids in the nooks and crannies of the country find an avenue to chase their dreams as well as targeting the long term dominance of Nigeria on the global stage.
He promised that under his watch, basketball will witness a revolution that will transcend the national team centred around objective grassroots basketball development.
“We hope to start a project to have at least one basketball court in at least one senatorial district in the country through private and public participation. That is a commitment that is being chaired by the NBBF and the Ministry of Youth and Sports.
On when the project will likely start, Dare said, “By January, 2021, we should have a template of how this will run, how the funding will be received, how it will be implemented and how those our young ones in primary and secondary schools, villages and some of these senatorial districts can just stroll into a basketball court and make basketball a culture. That is what happens in America.”
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By Ugo Okeiyi, Enugu
The end-of-year Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational Tournament, tagged “Championing the Youth Through Sports, Education and Opportunity,” has taken off and will be concluded on Friday. The three-day event is taking place at the Indoor Sports Multipurpose Gymnasium, Nnamdi Azikiwe Stadium, Enugu.
The grassroots basketball competition is designed to serve as a platform for discovering and nurturing the next generation of Nigerian basketball talent.
A total of 14 teams — eight male and six female sides drawn from across the country — are competing for honours in what promises to be an exciting three-day basketball spectacle.
The tournament is powered by the Anthony Ozubuekwe Foundation, in collaboration with the Enugu State Ministry for Youth and Sports Development and the Enugu State Basketball Association.
Organisers say fans should expect high-quality action, with displays of skill, athleticism and tactical awareness from some of the most promising young players in the country.
According to the organisers, the initiative is structured to positively engage young people, steering them away from social vices and criminal tendencies, while using sports as a tool for education, personal development and opportunity creation.
They added that the tournament will also give coaches and team officials a valuable opportunity to assess the mental readiness, discipline and competitive mindset of the players, while providing a conducive environment for athletes to interact, bond and learn from one another.
The competition will be played in a round-robin format, with attractive prize money on offer. In the men’s category, the champions will receive ₦2 million and a giant trophy, while the runners-up will earn ₦1.5 million.
In the women’s category, the winning team will go home with ₦1.5 million, while the second-placed team will receive ₦750,000.
With its blend of competition, youth empowerment and community development, the Ozobz Elite Basketball Invitational is expected to be one of the standout grassroots sports events of the year in Enugu State.
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Former head coach of Nigeria’s men’s basketball team, Alex Nwora, will join family, friends and well-wishers on December 28, 2025, to celebrate the 90th birthday of his father, Chief Charles Okwudi Nworah, in Onitsha, Anambra State.
The milestone celebration, according to Evelyn Childs, Public Relations Officer of the US-based Imo Women Elite Club (IWEC), will take place at the expansive Onitsha compound of the nonagenarian, who is highly regarded in his community.
Born on April 17, 1936, to Akudo and Agnes Nwora of the Okakwu family in Ogbedogwu Village, Onitsha, Chief Nworah’s early years reflected strong family values rooted in education and public service. He attended St. Mary’s Catholic School before moving on to Prince Commercial College, and later completed his secondary education at Baptist High School, Osogbo, in Osun State.
Chief Nworah began his career in the civil service at a young age with the Post and Telecommunications Service (P&T), where his father also served and retired as a senior manager. His professional journey continued seamlessly into Nigerian Telecommunications Limited (NITEL) following the merger of P&T with the Nigerian External Telecommunications.
Alex Nwora, who led D’Tigers through notable periods of growth and international competition, is expected to play a central role in the celebration, which will bring together members of the extended Nwora family and the Onitsha community to honour the life and legacy of the elder statesman.
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President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has conferred national honours on all members of Nigeria’s women’s basketball team, D’Tigress, in recognition of their historic victory at the 2025 FIBA Women’s AfroBasket Championship in Côte d’Ivoire.
Each member of the team was decorated with the Officer of the Order of the Niger (OON) title at a special reception held on Monday at the Presidential Villa in Abuja. Representing the president at the event was Vice President Kashim Shettima, who announced a series of generous rewards for the champions.
In addition to the national honours, each player will receive $100,000, while each member of the technical crew will be given $50,000. The government also pledged a flat in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) to every player and official on the squad.
The rewards follow D’Tigress’s emphatic 78-64 win over Mali in Sunday’s AfroBasket final, played at the Palais des Sports de Treichville in Abidjan. The victory marked Nigeria’s fifth consecutive AfroBasket title, a feat unmatched in the tournament’s history. With the triumph, D’Tigress also secured an automatic berth to the 2026 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup in Berlin, Germany.
President Tinubu, in his remarks delivered by Vice President Shettima, hailed the team’s resilience, determination, and consistency, describing their dominance on the continental stage as a symbol of national pride and inspiration to the youth.
Present at the reception were First Lady Senator Oluremi Tinubu, Femi Gbajabiamila, Chief of Staff to the President, Garba Maidoki, Chairman of the Senate Committee on Youths and Sports Development, and Kabiru Amadou, Chairman of the House Committee on Sports.
The honours and incentives underscore the government’s renewed commitment to recognising excellence in sports and motivating future champions.
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