Abia State Government has reaffirmed it’s commitment to sports development with special attention to identifying and nurturing talented youths through grassroot competitions.
The Commissioner for Sports, Mr Nwabiolor Ananaba disclosed this during the opening ceremony of the South East Basketball Tournament at the indoor Sports Hall of the Umuahia Township Stadium.
The Tournament which commenced with the Abia Stars Basketball team facing off against their Anambra counterparts, marks the first time Abia state has hosted the South East Basketball Tournament.
Mr Ananaba lauded Governor Alex Otti for the strategic shift towards investing in sports infrastructure, talent development, and creating an enabling environment for athletes in Abia State.
The Commissioner said that the government’s initiative aims not only to produce world-class athletes but also position Abia State as a hub for sporting excellence, to attract both local and international attention.
He noted that the South East Basketball Tournament would foster grassroots basketball development, revitalize sports in Abia state, and position it as a sports destination in the future as well as generate revenue through sports.
“It’s about developing basket ball from the grassroot. It’s about revitalizing sports in Abia state. It’s about making Abia state, sports destination in future. So, this is the build up.
“This is not the only competition we are doing . We want to start from here to make sure that things are happening in Abia state in terms of sports.
“We also make sure that we train these athletes to make sure that when they go to represent Abia state they will bring laurels and also bring money because sports now is business,” Mr. Ananaba stated.
Contributing, the State Director of Sports, Mr. Obioma George emphasized the tournament’s significance as an annual event that ensures participation from every zone adding that performing states will represent the South East at the National Federation Basketball Championship.
Mr George while noting that Abia was able to harness the athletes due to the commitment of Governor Otti to sports development, urged Abia athletes to leverage the competition to showcase their skills and earn spots in the National Camp.
“In Abia, we are able to harness the athletes from the grassroot and today all the grassroot basketballers we have selected are representing Abia state in this ongoing South East Basketball Championship.
“This is possible because of the basketball realm, you can see it’s Olympic standard that the Honourable Commissioner was able to get for us through His Excellency, Dr. Alex Otti,” Mr. George maintained.
Also, the Technical Director of the tournament and Chairman of Abia State Basketball Association, Mr. Victor Okoro commended Governor Otti for providing necessary support in sports development as well as the revitalization of basketball development through the procurement of a basketball realm.
The Team Captain of Abia Stars Basketball, Emmanuel Kpatuma in an interview with National Ambassador, expressed gratitude to Governor Otti for investing in standard basketball facilities and identifying young talents.
He expressed confidence in the Abia team’s ability to emerge victorious and represent the South East at the National Championship.
The inaugural game, which featured the presentation of Sports Kits to participating states in the tournament, ended 50/26 in favour of Abia Stars Basketball against the Anambra State Counterpart.
