Ubale raises Africa Junior Championship alarm

Team Nigeria made up of four male and four female players swept almost all the medals that were at stake at the qualifiers in Togo in January to qualify for the cadet championship which begins in March.Although the tennis federation sponsored the team to Togo for the qualifiers, paucity of funds has made it impossible […]

Team Nigeria made up of four male and four female players swept almost all the medals that were at stake at the qualifiers in Togo in January to qualify for the cadet championship which begins in March.
Although the tennis federation sponsored the team to Togo for the qualifiers, paucity of funds has made it impossible for the same federation to set up camp for the team.
Speaking to SHOT!, Ubale therefore called on the National Sports Commission to as a matter of urgency come in to support the tennis federation in preparing the team for the championship.
He said the federation had played its role by qualifying the country for the tournament so the commission should come in now that the players need to be given better motivation.
 “The major programme we have coming up is the Africa Junior Championship in Tunisia in March. We took part in the qualifiers in Togo where all the eight players qualified for the main event in Tunisia.
“Out of the 11 countries that attended, we topped with 7 gold 4 silver 3 bronze. We are going into the main event and the players need to be motivated.
 “We are depending solely on the federation and that is why we are not yet in camp. There is no money to camp the players.
“We expect the National Sports Commission to come in. This is an African junior championship whereby we have played the qualifiers and won in our zone.
 “This is where we are getting the players for the future. If they don’t get the motivation now, we would be going nowhere. In few years to come we would be talking about these young players. If they are not well nurtured, I don’t see us getting another crop of big talents,” he said.
Ubale however said despite the gloom, if the players get the much needed support from the NSC and public spirited organisations, they will do the country proud in Tunisia.
He said plans are underway to get the players into camp in Lagos towards the end of February.
“Definitely it is not going to be easy. It is like talking about the Junior Nations Cup in football. That’s what we are talking about.
“Most of the players have played in the championship before and they did well. They are going again so we are hoping for a good result. The championship is for U-14 and 16. The U-12 is going to be separate from that one.
“We hope to go into close camping in Lagos and that will be around February 28. We shall camp for at least ten days before leaving for Tunisia”.
Ubale reiterated that if the players are to do well in Tunisia, they must get the necessary support from the National Sports Commission and other sports loving corporate bodies.