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By Joe Apu
The Nigeria Basketball Federation, NBBF says teams that make up the Premier League will meet a standard before they can play in the top league.
Vice President of the NBBF, Babs Ogunade revealed this in a telephone chat with Daily Sun Sports noting that the federation is setting a higher standard for the teams that will participate in order to give sponsors value for money.
“There’s a need for the Premier League to have a new face where only teams that merit being there are the ones that will feature in the league in order for us to set the right standards.
“First, we will have to separate the grain from the chaff by getting all the teams play a qualifying tournament in the Savannah and Atlantic Conferences. The top team six or eight teams from each conference will then form the bulk of the Premier League.
After this, the NBBF is setting a financial limit that the teams must have to guarantee payment of the players and officials. This will be in addition to a dress code that must be abided to ensure that there is uniformity that will encourage sponsorship as well as television.”
Ogunade revealed that the federation is working towards signing a sponsorship deal for the league as well as have a broadcast partner. “The NBBF does not want half measures anymore and that is why we want to tidy things up properly before we make any announcement. But be rest assured that everything is in place for the Premier League.”
He noted that the federation is doing same for the Zenith Bank sponsored female basketball league. Already 34 teams have been divided into Atlantic and Savannah conferences for the qualifiers, with 8 teams from each conference, making it into the league proper.
The Atlantic Conference qualifiers is expected to tip off June 1-11, 2023, at the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, Benin City, Edo State while the Savannah Conference playoff is slated to hold June 7-17, at the Ahmadu Bello University Court, Zaire, Kaduna.
