The Nigeria Basketball Federation has announced that the 2019 domestic basketball season in Nigeria will start in April with the stakeholders meeting, Congress and Annual General Meeting.
According to the NBBF President, Engr. Musa Kida, the meeting with stakeholders will review the achievements recorded so far.
Kida said: “We shall start with the stakeholders forum and at the same time hold the congress and our Annual General Meeting to look at the last one and half years, review it to see the progress we have made so far, areas of concern, where we need to improve on while also listening to the stakeholders.
“Our congress should be able to validate what it is that we have done so far.”
Kida revealed that the Congress shall pave way for the commencement of the much anticipated Total Men’s Division 2 League and the Zenith Women’s League amongst other domestic programs of the federation.
“As you know last year, Total Men’s Division 2 was very well attended and we had over 70 teams participating in the first stage (state level).”
He took pride in what the federation has been able to achieve on the home front since coming on board while assuring that more teams are expected to participate in the expanded Total Men’s Division 1 League.
He said: “We have some teams that have also qualified from Division 2 to Division 1. Total Division 1 is going to be more elaborate especially with this expanded format.”
With definite dates already proposed for the various leagues, the NBBF president stressed that the domestic leagues will run over longer period than the 2018 season.
This, he said, is important to give the leagues needed visibility, coverage and afford players more games.
The NBBF president also tasked Nigeria’s lone surviving representative in the 2018/2019 FIBA AfroLeague, Defenders Basketball Club of Abuja, to go for broke when they host AS Sale of Morocco in the first leg of Elite Final 8.
Kida gave the charge on Thursday ahead of the team’s meeting on Saturday at 3:30pm at the Indoor Sports Hall, Package B of the Abuja National Stadium.
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