Lagos State Sports Commission is to organise an international friendly netball match between Bringing Netball Back (BNB) of Nigeria and Accra Golden Maidens of Ghana, as part of the activities to mark Nigeria’s 57th Independence anniversary. The competition is scheduled to hold on Oct. 1 at the Indoor Sports Hall of the Teslim Balogun, Stadium, Lagos.
The President of BNB, Abimbola Smith, in a statement said that the competition was aimed at promoting the game in Nigeria. Smith said that the friendly would be two-legged home and away series between the two countries. The second leg would take place in Accra on October. 6.
“The competition is part of the design to create awareness for the sport and more opportunity for women in sports. The underlying mission is to increase participation in netball across schools in Lagos as well as to encourage emergence of netball clubs across Nigeria,’’ the president said.
She said that a 25-man delegation from Ghana for the competition would be led by the President of Ghana Netball Federation, Emmanuel Nikoi.
“Nikoi has expressed excitement about the event, describing it as the first of many to come between Ghanaian and Nigerian clubs. He also said the match was an opportunity to re-visit history, noting that the two countries played frequent netball matches in the 1970s,’’Smith said.
She commended Lagos State Sports Commission for supporting efforts at reviving netball in Nigeria.
According to her, 50 schools sports teachers and games mistresses have been selected to participate in a seminar on October 2 with regard to the competition.
“This segment of the programme is to be facilitated by the Secretary of the Nigerian Netball Federation, Hellen Manufor, an ex-England netball player,’’ Smith said.
