Posted by Ademola Oni on
The Embassy of the United States of America on Monday donated basketball shoes to the Lagos State basketball teams that recently qualified for the National Sports Festival billed for Abeokuta next year.
The Embassy of the United States of America on Monday donated basketball shoes to the Lagos State basketball teams that recently qualified for the National Sports Festival billed for Abeokuta next year.
The Embassy, at the Rowe Park office of the Lagos State Sports Council, presented 24 pairs of shoes to the male and female basketballers, saying the effort was to gear up players to better performance.
Presenting the kits to the council, the Consul General of the Embassy, Mr. Brian Brown, said the gesture was part of the ‘Basketball for Peace', an initiative of the American government to foster closer relationship with its allies.
'Everyone knows that Lagos is the home of basketball in Nigeria. What we have done was to encourage the players and enhance their performances in their games," said Brown.
The envoy, who would not disclose the amount of the kits, noted that the spirit behind the donation was more important than the financial value of the materials.
The Chairman of the Lagos State Basketball Association, Babs Ogunade, said the gesture of the Embassy was commendable, saying the kits would better motivate the players to strive for greater glory in the game.
The former national player however believed that the donation was belated.
'We expected that the aid would have been made before now to help us in our qualifier; but we still thank the embassy for even remembering us at all," he added.
The PUNCH, Tuesday, December 20, 2005