November 14, (THEWILL) – The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has cautioned teams from counting on the alleged Premier League Basketball Final 8 in Abuja to serve as qualifiers for the 2021 World Cup.
The warning was issued after the taskforce, whose membership was kept under wraps, invited teams to Abuja for a questionable Final 8 Competition.
The action, which the federation considered as not only futile, was also deemed a clear usurpation of the NBBF constitutional powers by an unknown taskforce, as evidenced by the recent FIBA letter to NBBF President Musa Kida and the Nigeria Olympic Committee.
Kida, who was not amused by the actions of the purported taskforce, said: “Sadly, this is another booby trap that may lead to another long drawn case(s) that may upset the normal flow of domestic basketball in Nigeria.
“We have been here before and it is sad that many of us forget what led us to a situation where the NBBF found itself in court courtesy of the booby trap put in place by the former board to destabilize domestic basketball in Nigeria”.
Kida bemoaned the fact that some employees of the Federal Ministry of Sports colluded with self-serving persons hell-bent on ruining the game in Nigeria.
“We are not stopping any team from participating in any competition anywhere across the country. We have always desired more games for our players and we encourage them to take advantage of any competition to get ready for the Final 8,” Kida added.
As a result, clubs and players have been informed that no result from any competition other than those legally organised by the NBBF board would be accepted as a ticket to any continental competition.
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Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.