Thursday, June 18, 2026

The Sun Nigeria

Sports Ministry to begin zonal sec. schl Basketball competition June

Federal-Ministry-Of-Youth-And-Sports-Development

In order to initiate grassroots basketball development in Nigeria and give opportunities to young and talented youth, the Ministry of Youth and Sports Development has concluded plans to begin a zonal youth basketball championship across the six geo- political zones in the country.

Sports Minister, Sunday Dare, said on a national television that the Ministry, through its Grassroots Department, will leverage on its six zonal coordinators to start a 3-4 weeks basketball competition amongst secondary schools starting in June.

He revealed that two representatives are expected to emerge from each zone. The twelve teams will then come to Abuja or Lagos for a one-week championship. Sources in the Ministry said the grassroots development project will likely be tagged “Basketball Youth Talent Hunt” and it is expected to ignite developmental efforts in basketball.

Recently, the Federal Government withdrew Nigeria from international competitions in order to rebuild the game of basketball and revamp the domestic leagues in Nigeria.