Sports
Coach of the Coal City Queen’s Basketball Club of Enugu, Chiedozie Nwoye, has solicited the state government’s sponsorship of his team to the national Nigeria Women Basketball League (NWBL).
Nwoye told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Enugu that such assistance would avail the players the needed exposure for possible participation at the continental stage.
NAN reports that Coal City Queens will be taking on other teams in the NWBL such as MFM Women, Sunshine Queens, IGP Queens, Delta Force and Deep Waters in the South-East Conference Centre, Akure, Ondo State.
Nwoye said the club had come this far mainly from personal efforts, adding that “our major source of funding is from friends and well wishers like Amobi Ezeaku, who has been solidly behind us.
“We are competing at the apex of the female basketball in the country that has produced champions.
“I wish the government will do something to assist pull off these girls from the streets and keep them busy.
“Some of these players can make a living from basketball just like some of their predecessors who are now playing outside the country,” he said.
On the league, Nwoye acknowledged that his team was still underdogs, saying: “We are ready for the second phase of the league coming up on Sept. 7 but I must accept that we are still underdogs.
“My team is underdog going by the calibre of teams that are in our conference.
“We have 27 teams that will battle for a place in the Conference finals from four different conference zones in the country,” he said.
The coach lamented that the club lost seven experienced players this season but noted that he had replaced them with new players.
“On my own side, I have done my own part and I believe that Coal City Queens will do well when the league commences on Sept. 7.
“We went to the first phase of the league two months ago but our performance was not favourable owing to inexperience, we lost.
“Now, the players who played at the first phase have garnered some experiences and this league is the best place to expose these players,” the coach said.
He expressed happiness that some of the players who played the first phase of the league were still with his team.
“I believe that their experience will help us in this second phase as someone like Chioma Mbonu is making waves turning the coaches’ head.
“Mbonu has garnered experience and she has the height required of a basketball player; I am even afraid of loosing her as other coaches are looking out for her,” Nwoye said. (NAN)
-Sep 05, 2019 @17:28 GMT |
Tags: Basketball League: Coal City Queen’s begs Enugu Govt. for sponsorship
