Sports
NFL To Touch Down In Africa With Inaugural Camp
The next generation of NFL stars could be discovered in Ghana after the NFL announced that it is to host its first events in Africa later this month.
A host of current NFL players with African roots will be in the capital Accra for the inaugural NFL Africa Camp, which will take place from 21-22 June.
The week of activities, labelled ‘NFL Africa: The Touchdown, will also feature a fan event and a clinic about flag football (a simpler non-contact version of NFL).
Forty players have been selected after participating in regional camps led by Osi Umenyiora, a two-time Super Bowl winner born in England to Nigerian parents.
The NFL legend, now 40, has established a football programme in Nigeria – called the Uprise – and has held recent camps there as well as in Ghana and South Africa.
“This is a truly remarkable initiative,” Umenyiora said of the NFL’s plans.
“This camp is not only giving opportunities to great African athletes, it is also highlighting the incredible African athletes already in the NFL. The positive impact of this cannot be overstated.”
At present, over 100 players of African descent – whether both on the continent or elsewhere with African parentage – are involved in the NFL.
These include some of those set to be in Ghana later this month, such as Seattle Seahawks Uchenna Nwosu and Houston Texans Ogbonnia Okoronkwo (both with Nigeria roots), Cleveland Browns Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah (Ghanaian) and Indianapolis Colts Kwity Paye (Liberian).
“We look forward to hosting our first camp in Ghana and will look to activate in Nigeria and other African countries in the future,” said Damani Leech, NFL Chief Operating Officer of International.
“We want to provide an opportunity for the next generation of African prospects to showcase and further develop their talent.
“As we continue to look for ways to strengthen the pipeline of international players, we hope this camp, and future camps, provide a path for aspiring players from across the continent.”
This year, three players that were discovered through Umenyiora’s Uprise programme have signed with NFL teams – Chigbo Roy Mbaeteka (New York Giants), Haggai Chisom Ndubuisi, (Arizona Cardinals), and Kehinde Hassan Oginni (Kansas City Chiefs).
The NFL is belatedly following in the footsteps of the NBA, which has been hosting such camps in Africa for nearly two decades and which has also staged exhibition games on the continent.
Hon Dike who spoke with sports journalists shortly after the flag off the 2024 edition of Chairman’s Football Unity Tournament at Botem Tai in Tai LGA, said the tournament is an annual event to promote peace and unity in Tai as well identify budding talents in the area for global competition.
The opening ceremony of the tournament was more like a carnival was witnessed by huge crowd including prominent indigenes of Ogoni Kingdom, sports lovers and people from all works of life.
The LGA boss revealed that special sports committee will be setup in the area to work out modalities to strengthen sports development in Tai.
He advised the participants in the tournament from various wards in the LGA to play the game by the rules and conduct themselves in a peaceful and orderly manner and use the opportunity to showcase their talents.
Hon Dike further disclosed that his administration will also give priority attention to skills development among the youth to enhance their human capacity and promote enterprise development in the area.
Earlier in his address the Chairman of Tai LGA Football Council, Elder Wisdom Gorgor said the annual football competition has been a unifying factor in Tai LGA that need to be sustained to forge more unity and development in the area.
He urged the participants to see the competition as an opportunity to embrace football as a full career and earn sustainable livelihood.
Elder Gorgor who commended the Chairman of Tai LGA, Hon Dike for his visionary leadership and tremendous development achievements recorded in the LGA under his administration, appealled to the Chairman to build a Mini Sports Stadium in the area to promote sporting activities.
The training was held at the Sani Abacha Stadium Indoor Basketball Court in Kano last Saturday.
According to the Vice President and Head of NBA Nigeria, Gbemisola Abudu, the event was part of the league’s commitment to growing broader basketball ecosystem in Nigeria and making the game more accessible across the country.
“Our first Jr. NBA clinic in Kano speaks to our commitment to growing the game in Nigeria and creating more opportunities for boys and girls to learn and play the game,” Abudu said.
“Nigeria has a rich basketball history and abundance of talent, which is evident every time you watch an NBA game. We look forward to continuing to engage with basketball stakeholders, business leaders and members of the community to further the game’s reach and impact on young people around the country,” she added.
The 2024 basketball initiative clinics of NBA Nigeria also included the league’s inaugural Jr. NBA elite camp for 150 boys and age-16 girls held at the American International School in Lagos in July.
Others include the NBA’s building of 1,000 courts in Africa over the next decade, Nigeria’s Festival Coins and Salubata named the top two winning businesses at NBA Africa Triple-Double Accelerator’s inaugural Demo Day in New York City held last September, and the third edition of “NBA Meets Art,” a curated installation celebrating basketball through the lens of Nigerian art and culture as part of West Africa’s premier art fair Art X Lagos, held in November.
Central to this vision is the federation’s investment in capacity building, evident in the just-concluded one-week Level 1 Badminton World Federation (BWF) Coaching Course, which marked a significant milestone for Nigerian badminton.
Held in Abuja, the course brought together 13 young coaches from across Nigeria. The last time such a course was held in the country was in 2017, making this a historic and transformative step.
The training was facilitated by the Badminton Confederation of Africa (BCA) in partnership with the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) and conducted by Dr. Ahmed Radah, the BCA Development Manager.
Radah, impressed by the talent he witnessed, praised Nigeria’s potential.
“Nigeria is blessed with immense talent and a strong badminton tradition. I believe this country has what it takes to dominate on the global stage,” he remarked.