12 February 2008
NIGERIA : 10th Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Match Begins
All is set for the kick-start of the 10th edition of the Nestle Milo Secondary Schools' Basketball Championship. An annual event, targeted at youths in secondary schools and colleges nationwide has had a profound impact on the grassroots development of the game in the country.
This was disclosed recently in Lagos by the Managing Director/CEO, Nestle Nigeria PLC, Mr. Klaus Wachsmuth, at a special media briefing to unveil plans for the 10th anniversary edition of the championship.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Wachsmuth explained that the key objectives of the championship remain the acceleration of basketball development in Nigeria, while positively engaging the youths and fostering better social interaction sand the spirit of sportsmanship.
"Our aim is for basketball to become Nigeria's favourite sport. And we also want to create a really strong base for boys and girls that we nurture through the championship. Then we'll have a bigger pool of talented players in our pathway system to represent Nigeria at international basketball events."
He stated that the competition has recorded various landmarks in the past decade of its existence. This includes annual participation which has grown from 30,000 students from 1,000 schools in 1999 to 80,000 students representing 3,197 schools in 2007. The annual fan base has also grown from 186,000 fans in 1999 to 330,000 fans in 2007.
"Overall, 21,000 schools have featured in the championship in the last ten years and the championship has witnessed 600,000 participants, while matches at all the stages have been watched by 2.5 million fans", he said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Category Business Manager (Beverages), Mr. Walter Okafor announced that in this 10th commemorative year of the championship, the 1st placed teams in both boys and girls' categories will be given a state-of-the-art basketball court each. This is unprecedented in the history of the championship and will allow the students from these schools to further develop their skills through the provision of this special infrastructure.
He also announced the upward review of the prize money for the 2nd and 3rd placed teams to =N=150,000 and =N=100,000 respectively.
Individual prizes include medals to each member of the top three teams. Trophies will also be given to the Most Valuable Players (MVP), Fair Play trophies to the schools, trophy award to the Best 3-Point Shooters in both categories and Best in Slam Dunk.
He also assured that Nestle Milo will continue to sponsor the Future Champions Basketball Summer Academy/Clinic which will hold from 1st to 30th June 2008, the Top 50 Camp and the Train - the -Trainers Camp which will offer Nigerian basketball coaches the opportunity to learn new skills as they continue to instruct the nation's future basketball champions.
This was disclosed recently in Lagos by the Managing Director/CEO, Nestle Nigeria PLC, Mr. Klaus Wachsmuth, at a special media briefing to unveil plans for the 10th anniversary edition of the championship.
Speaking at the occasion, Mr. Wachsmuth explained that the key objectives of the championship remain the acceleration of basketball development in Nigeria, while positively engaging the youths and fostering better social interaction sand the spirit of sportsmanship.
"Our aim is for basketball to become Nigeria's favourite sport. And we also want to create a really strong base for boys and girls that we nurture through the championship. Then we'll have a bigger pool of talented players in our pathway system to represent Nigeria at international basketball events."
He stated that the competition has recorded various landmarks in the past decade of its existence. This includes annual participation which has grown from 30,000 students from 1,000 schools in 1999 to 80,000 students representing 3,197 schools in 2007. The annual fan base has also grown from 186,000 fans in 1999 to 330,000 fans in 2007.
"Overall, 21,000 schools have featured in the championship in the last ten years and the championship has witnessed 600,000 participants, while matches at all the stages have been watched by 2.5 million fans", he said.
Also speaking at the occasion, the Category Business Manager (Beverages), Mr. Walter Okafor announced that in this 10th commemorative year of the championship, the 1st placed teams in both boys and girls' categories will be given a state-of-the-art basketball court each. This is unprecedented in the history of the championship and will allow the students from these schools to further develop their skills through the provision of this special infrastructure.
He also announced the upward review of the prize money for the 2nd and 3rd placed teams to =N=150,000 and =N=100,000 respectively.
Individual prizes include medals to each member of the top three teams. Trophies will also be given to the Most Valuable Players (MVP), Fair Play trophies to the schools, trophy award to the Best 3-Point Shooters in both categories and Best in Slam Dunk.
He also assured that Nestle Milo will continue to sponsor the Future Champions Basketball Summer Academy/Clinic which will hold from 1st to 30th June 2008, the Top 50 Camp and the Train - the -Trainers Camp which will offer Nigerian basketball coaches the opportunity to learn new skills as they continue to instruct the nation's future basketball champions.
# posted by afrbk : 14:22
