The Federal Government has reversed the ban placed on national teams from participating in international basketball competitions.
Permanent secretary of the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development Ismaila Abubakar disclosed this at a news conference in Abuja on Thursday.
The approval was granted following a letter of appeal dated June 17, 2022, which was signed by Musa Kida, leader of the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) board and addressed to the minister of youth and sports development, Sunday Dare.
He said, “The appeal letter also critically gave some key undertakings: to immediately set in motion the process of status review or constitutional amendments from stakeholders as collated by the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, to set up a high powered team to reconcile all contending parties in the basket ball family at home and abroad, and a commitment to work with the Ministry in the governance and development of basketball among other things.
“Flowing from the above and upon a review, the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development approached and placed these developments before President Muhammadu Buhari being one that is committed to youth development and desirous of ensuring that they are availed of all opportunities in sports and other endeavours considered the appeal and in the overriding spirit of national interest, love for our youth, and in order to avoid sending basket development into a long period of suspension when NBBF have now committed to resolution of the issues which precipitated the withdrawal in the first place has approved the return of Nigeria to international basket ball immediately.”
The ban has seen the Nigerian female basketball team, D’Tigress, kicked out of the 2022 FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup billed to take place in Australia in September. The team was replaced by Mali.
