After staging the first two editions in Kaduna, the annual Adewale Isa Memorial National junior championship returns to Lagos for the first time as across the converge for the third edition from August 1 to 6 at the National Stadium, Surulere
Speaking at the press conference to herald the kick off, Yinka Isa-Adigun said the essence f the competition was part of their late father’s legacy of developing tennis players in the country,
Isa-Adigun, who is the eldest daughter of the late national referee, said it is a continuation of a tradition started by the family to immortalize his legacy, adding the tournament is an open event for junior players across the country with the sole aim of complimenting the Nigeria Tennis Federation [NTF].
According to national junior coach Mohammed Ubale, the tournament would help NTF to select players for the national team especially for international competitions.
“We are so excited at NTF that the family decided to bring the tournament to Lagos and we believe this would give us the chance to select players for the national teams. This is an open tournament for junior players across the country and we believe this will help to unearth new set of talent for the country. Outstanding players from the tournament will be invited to the national camp in Abuja for a three-week camping ahead of some international competitions later this year,” Ubale said.
Explaining the format of the event, the tournament referee, Arinola Isa said the tournament will be competed in U-12, U-14 and U-16 with the round of 32 [knockout] while players that could not make the top 32 will battle for honours in the round robin matches as all participating players will taste action during the competition,
The late Alhaji Mustapha Adewale Isa was Kaduna State coach and he produced many national and international tennis players including Olympian Yakubu Suleiman, Olympian Sadiq Abdullahi, the current national Junior Coach of Nigeria, Ubale Mohammed, and his son Nurudeen Isa, the Nigerian Masters Champion in 2000.
Alhaji Isa died at 98 years in 2015.