The International Baseball Federation, the world governing body for baseball, has formally invited Nigeria for the forthcoming world U-12 Baseball Championship scheduled to take place in Taipei, China from July 20 to 28, 2013.
Ikenna Agu, head of media of the Nigeria baseball body, disclosed this in Lagos on Sunday.
In extending the invitation to Nigeria, IBAF acknowledged the developmental programme, which the country has embarked on in the recent years, adding that embracing the international scene will no doubt help in expediting the development of the game in the country.
IBAF has also invited 12 other countries from other parts of the world to take part in this competition.
Meanwhile, the process of getting the best players that will represent Nigeria in the world tournament has started with a camping in Ibadan, Oyo State, starting February 19, 2013 and to run for eight days.
Best players have been selected from teams in different parts of the country, with the Oyo State Government playing a pivotal role in the national camping event.
In addition, an American coach has been appointed as the technical adviser of the national team and he is scheduled to be in Nigeria very soon to start working on the team.
Commenting on the journey so far, the Secretary of Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation, Kehinde Laniyan, praised the efforts of the international body in making sure that the game of baseball grows in Nigeria, adding that the nation’s invitation among the 12 participating countries was a clear indication that the national body is leaving no stone unturned in making sure that it takes the game to the nooks and crannies of this country.
Laniyan said: “We felt fulfilled when we got the invitation.
“It show that somebody, somewhere is closely following what we are doing here.”
Nigeria is also playing host to international headquarters of African Baseball and softball Association, with Nigeria’s General Ishola Williams (rtd) being the president.
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