George Aluo
Sports minister, Sunday Dare, has declared that basketball would be Nigeria’s number one sport to the Tokyo 2020 Olympics now billed for next year in Japan.
Dare who spoke in Lagos last week when the Nigerian basketball federation (NBBF) struck a N150m deal with Total E $ P said with the failure of the nation’s U-23 football team to qualify for the world’s biggest sports fiesta, the D’Tigers and D’Tigress would headline Nigeria’s Olympics campaign.
“It is heartwarming that we have both the male and female basketball teams going to the Olympics. Basketball would be our number one sports at the Olympics,” Dare said.
While giving the Musa Kida led NBBF board a pat on the back, Dare noted that basketball welcomed him with a trophy few days after he was appointed sports minister.
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“Last year, I was barely 24 hours in office when the D’Tigress welcomed me with a trophy when they won the Afro basketball championship in Senegal. That was a good beginning for me. So, I would continue to give total support to basketball. I m happy the NBBF board is doing well and attracting sponsorship from the private sector in line with the vision of government,” Dare said.
The Total E $ P sponsorship deal would see the oil firm bankroll the nation’s Divisions One and Two basketball league until 2025. Total would pump in N30m each year to the league which is aimed at catching them young at the grassroots.