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Median African Basketball league set for launch in Lagos

By Alex Monye
15 December 2015   |   2:05 am
AFRICAN Sports Entertainment in partnership with Wakanow Sports is set to launch the median edition of African Basketball League (ABL) tomorrow at the Boat Club in Ikoyi, Lagos. The highly anticipated corporate launch will feature the Lagos Islanders, Stallions, Lagos City Chiefs and other Nigerian clubs side in the domestic basketball league. Africa clubs that will…

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AFRICAN Sports Entertainment in partnership with Wakanow Sports is set to launch the median edition of African Basketball League (ABL) tomorrow at the Boat Club in Ikoyi, Lagos.

The highly anticipated corporate launch will feature the Lagos Islanders, Stallions, Lagos City Chiefs and other Nigerian clubs side in the domestic basketball league.

Africa clubs that will participate in the league include Dakar Rapids from Senegal, Abidjan Ramblers from the Cote d’Ivoire and Izobe Basketball Club from Libreville, Gabon.

In a statement released by the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Wakanow, Obinna Ekezie, he noted that basketball offers significant opportunities for job creation and socio-economic development in Africa.

According to him “Sports entertainment is a business that will create more jobs in Africa and especially Nigeria with the fall of oil prices and the opportunity for the sports industry to contribute immensely in this area since it is an industry mainly targeted at the youth.”

Ekezie, who played professional basketball in the NBA for Dallas Mavericks and Chicago Bulls added that a new perspective is needed if Africa is to take advantage of the values and opportunities in the dunking game.

“The challenge we have is the way we have viewed sports and the ABL’s value proposition in basketball model in Africa. For basketball players to travel across Africa, spend their money and enjoy the game of basketball, they need to be encouraged,” he noted.

The ABL will be managed by seasoned experts who have experience in professional basketball management at the highest level. The Chief Executive Officer of the league, Ugo Udezue, also said that “The value objectives of the ABL is built around professionalism.

“We will run a very professional league with franchises that are managed very professionally. The value of a league is in the strength of its franchises and ABL will largely manage the franchises to optimise their commercial and technical value,” he said.

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