The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Baseball

  • Tokyo 2020: Nigeria Baseball and Softball team storms Ghana for qualifier

    A 23-man contingent (20 players and 3 officials) of the Nigeria Baseball and Softball team departed the shores of the country on Tuesday for the West Zone 1 Olympics qualifier billed for Labone Senior High School, Accra, Ghana from March 22 to 24, 2019.

    A total of 17 countries in Africa have been divided into four zones and Nigeria will compete in Zone West 1 alongside Ghana, Burkina Faso, Tunisia and Cote d’Ivoire.

    Two teams will then qualify from the group to play in the Africa Cup and Olympic Qualifier in Boksburg, South Africa from May 1-5. The winner of this continental championship will then move on to compete with the best of Europe at the Europe-Africa Olympic Qualifier in Bologna and Parma, scheduled for September 18-22.

    Whoever emerge winner will get the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games sole ticket reserved for Europe/Africa.

    In a chat with NationSport, the Secretary, Technical Commission of the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA), Adeola Omotosho, said the best players were selected after a thorough screening.

    “Our players have been in clamp close to two weeks preparing for the West Zone 1 Olympics qualifier. We have 45 players selected from 10 states in Nigeria where we have Baseball being played. After screening, they were reduced to 30, then to 20 that will be representing Nigeria in Ghana,” Omotosho told NationSport.

    Team manager, Olusola Ogunseye, who called for more support for the team, said a foreign-based players, Jimmy Kolawole who plays for Carpi in Germany will also join the team.

    “We are very optimistic to qualify if we have the necessary support from government, well meaning individual, private sector to help us project this game. We have been sponsoring ourselves through personal contributions from the board members and other club owners in the country,” Ogunseye told NationSport.

    Captain of the Nigeria Baseball and Softball team, Sunday Twaki says the players are in high spirit as they begin quest for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics ticket.

    “The players are in high spirit and by the grace of God, we are going to pick the ticket for the next stage in South Africa. We appreciate the technical crew members who have done their best in selecting the right players. We are ready to do the country proud in Ghana because we know what is at stake,” Twaki told NationSport.

  • Baseball, Softball Confederation plead for Tokyo 2020 Games

    Baseball, Softball Confederation plead for Tokyo 2020 Games

    The World Baseball and Softball Confederation (WBSC) said its forthcoming U-18 Baseball World Cup would help to unite the sport’s future stars ahead of Tokyo 2020 Games.

    According to the `Insidethegames’, the tournament holding from August 28 to September 6 in Japan will feature top 12 teams likely to take part at the 2020 if the sport is included.

    It noted that the WBSC claimed that baseball was the number one sport in Japan in terms of youth participation, infrastructure, media coverage and fan-following.

    The statement said the event would give WBSC another opportunity to gauge public support in the country, ahead of the Tokyo 2020 Additional Event Programme Panel announcement, scheduled for September.

    It said baseball and softball would be among the eight sports that presented their case for Olympic inclusion to the International Olympic Committee (IOC) panel in Japan earlier in the month.

    The publication said the proposal was made by an 8- man delegation led by WBSC President, Riccardo Fraccari. According to the online portal, Fraccari said inclusion of baseball and softball will add more value to the Tokyo Games.

    “Given our sport’s footprint in Japan and worldwide, WBSC hopes to show that staging baseball and softball in 2020 Olympics will be easily accommodated.

    “The added value as well as the historic value would be a `home run’ for Tokyo 2020, the Olympic Movement and our sport,’’ it quoted Fraccari as saying.

    The sport remains the favourite to win its case for inclusion after baseball was dropped from the Olympics after Beijing 2008 in China.

    An unspecified number of sports will be proposed by Tokyo 2020 to the IOC in September, before a final decision at its Session in Rio de Janeiro in August 2016.

  • Rivers Baseball Association pledges promotion of league

    The Rivers Baseball and Softball Association (RSBSA) on Wednesday said it would collaborate with the 23 local government councils in the state to promote the sport.

    The association’s Head Coach, Jacob David, told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on telephone that each local government would be encouraged to adopt a club to develop its league.

    “Our main focus this year will be on the grassroots and one of the ways we can develop the sport at that level is to enhance the league we started in 2013. So, plans are on to involve all the 23 local governments in the league. If each local government can adopt a club, the sport will thrive in the state,’’ he said.

    David said the association was committed to the development of the sport and in 2014 would scout for budding talents at the grassroots to nurture to stardom. The coach said the introduction of the league had increased the popularity of the sport in the state.

    “Most people in the state do not know about baseball and softball but the introduction of the league last year has increased awareness of the game,’’ he said.

    Commenting on the summit organised by the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association to restructure the sport, David described it as one that would reposition the game. He appealed to stakeholders to work toward promoting the sport and nurturing talents through organising competitions.

  • Baseball, Softball Association gets new lease of life

    Baseball, Softball Association gets new lease of life

    The year 2013 could perhaps be said to be one in which the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA) finally came out of the doldrums after a long period of inactivity.

    It is pertinent to note that the last time baseball and softball players were actively engaged in any form of national competition was at the 2009 National Sports Festival in Kaduna.

    The sport after that was removed from the list of events to be competed for in subsequent editions of the festival by the National Sports Commission (NSC). The association’s activities for the year under review were ushered in by the Lagos State Baseball and Softball Association’s U-13 Baseball and Softball Championships.

    Four states, namely Kwara, Oyo, Niger and the host Lagos participated in the competition. The thrilling five-day tournament which commenced on Jan. 15 and ended on Jan. 20 was an eye opener of sort for most of the participants.

    The championships which were eventually won by Kwara Sliders baseball and softball teams also whetted the appetite of the players for the sport, especially the budding grassroots talents.

    Soon after the Lagos championships in January, the NBSA in conjunction with the Kwara Baseball and Softball Association came up with another national competition which took the centre stage in May.

    The competition, tagged “Super Five Softball Championships’’, sponsored by Felicia Kisira, wife of the Kwara Deputy-Governor kept Ilorin busy for the period it lasted.

    Teams from Delta, Rivers, Niger, Lagos and the host Kwara competed in the five-day competition which ran from May 13 to May 18. The fact that only five teams participated in the competition did not rob the event of its glamour.

    A large turnout of spectators trooped out on a daily basis to the Adewole Baseball and Softball Park, venue of the championships to cheer the teams on.