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No fewer than 35 basketball and American football players are set to embark on further training and study abroad, courtesy of Ejike Ugboaja Foundation (EUF).
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reported that over 100 participants took part in the 2022 edition of the Annual EUF Basketball talent hunt and American football open trials from Wednesday to Friday in Abuja.
The three-day event which took place at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Package B, showcased basketball and American football talents from across the 36 states of the federation and FCT.
Ejike Ugboaja, the President of EUF told NAN that the players selected from the event would enjoy scholarship and placement in American Universities.
He said they would also have the opportunity to further their career to greater heights.
Ugboaja who played for the D’Tigers and was also drafted with the Cleveland Caveliers in the NBA, said that the annual event was in its 15th edition.
“This is my annual event and the EUF has been doing this since 2007, that’s about 15 years now. This is the 2022 edition and we are here to fish out basketball and American football talents again.
“Every year, we try to give out scholarships to these young talents to go and play basketball abroad.
“About 15 basketball and 20 American football talents will be going this year to study in the U.S.; some of them will be going to high school, while others will be going to university.
“We have over 100 basketball and American football talents here and we are selecting no fewer than 35 out of the bunch to give them a better life,” he said.
He said that over 2,000 Nigerians who are beneficiaries of the foundation, were presently schooling abroad.
The president said that some had obtained their masters, while others had acquired their doctorate degrees.
The Ex-international said the game of basketball had been suffering at the grassroots in the country.
“Those at the helm of affairs really need to wake up and do better for the game in the country as the game had suffered a lot at the grassroots.
“So many young talents abound in this country and they need to be engaged positively so as not to constitute a nuisance on our streets.
“They need to be given the best opportunity out there so as to maximise their potential.
“It wasn’t an easy run I must say but back in the days the opportunities were there, unlike now and that’s why people like me could play for the country for such a long time.
“So, I wish that going forward we can have the right people who will tell us the truth and do the right thing for the good of the game at the grassroots,” he said.
He said that he chose to embark on the project because he realised the game was made for Nigerians.
“I’ve found out that in the U.S. a whole lot of Nigerians are playing American football.
“I am in touch with the likes of Osi Umenyiora who played for the New York Giants as well as some other Nigerians playing in the National Football League (NFL).
“If you take 10 Nigerians abroad to play American football, honestly 10 of them will make it.
He said that in 2021, the three Nigerians who went for trials are already playing professionally in the NFL and making a lot of money as we speak.
“So, this is a project we want to invest a lot of our energy and resources in to ensure that the youths in this country benefit and become good ambassadors for us abroad,” he said.
Michael Akubo, the Lead Coach for the EUF basketball camp stressed that the event was basically about talent identification and player’s development.
“We identify talents, develop them through skill acquisition programmes and the basic fundamentals of the game.
“We have discovered quite a number of them who are good with a lot of potential and just require a little bit of exposure as well as coaching and training,” he said.
