From Romanus Ugwu, Abuja
As the 2023 Power Forward 10th edition competition tips off in Abuja, no fewer than 1200 youths will benefit from the ongoing three-day ExxonMobil, NBA Africa, PanAfricare Nigeria Basketball Association (NBA) clinic.
2015 NBA champion, Festus Ezeli and 2015 AfroBasket champion, Olumide Oyedeji, are spearheading the finals activities of the programme, which has impacted over 250,000 children in over a decade of existence.
Oyedeji tipped off the event on Wednesday which led to the Jr. NBA clinic for 1,200 youths, comprising boys and girls between the ages of 16 at MO Arena, Abuja.
The Power Forward youth development programme established in 2013, has provided life skills and public health awareness seminars, malaria prevention workshops and basketball development programming to more than 250,000 boys and girls across 40 schools in Abuja.
Organisers of the event also disclosed that this year’s programme included a basketball tournament from June through September that featured 30 boys’ teams and 12 girls’ teams.
They explained that the top eight girls’ teams and top 10 boys’ teams participating in the playoffs and the top two girls’ and boys’ teams in the playoffs will advance to the Power Forward finals.
The organisers further explained that the on-court competition will feature an alumni summit ahead of the championship games at the M.K.O. Abiola National Stadium on Sept. 21 that will engage 500 former Power Forward participants on the program’s impact.
Commenting on its involvement in the programme, ExxonMobil Foundation President, Alvin Abraham, said that; “over the past decade, our partnership with NBA Africa and PanAfricare on the Power Forward initiative has promoted youth development through sports, life skills, and public health education.”
“This impactful program has benefitted more than 250,000 young Nigerians and empowered them to use the leadership skills they learned to work towards a brighter future for Nigeria.”
On his own part, NBA Africa Vice President and Country Head of Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, confessed that; “we are excited to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the Power Forward programme as we build on our long-standing commitment to positively impacting the Abuja community.”
Similarly, PanAfricare Nigeria Country Director, Patrick Adah, said that; “the initiative utilizes the transformative power of basketball to educate young people about public health awareness while instilling critical life skills such as teamwork and leadership and we’re encouraged about the influence the program has had to date.”
“Power Forward in its 10th year has contributed to raising over 8,000 malaria champions and public health advocates. The positive impact of the project has transformed the lives of youths in 40 schools in the Federal Capital Territory. Through an effective and collaborative partnership, the project has metamorphosed into a model program which we look to continue to expand,” Adah added.