TO further assure Nigerians of its commitment to the development of basketball, Zenith Bank has released N15 million for this edition of the National Division Women Basketball League, which begins next Thursday at the Abuja Stadium Gymnasium.Head, Zenith Philanthropy, Eunice Sampson, said it was a pleasure for the bank to sponsor the tournament, which is in its seventh season, and it was constantly working on the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) to move female basketball forward in the country.We are passionate about the female league because it a means to empower the youth and also a way of empowering the female folks to excel, Sampson said.The women, she said, have a lot to offer but do not have avenues to exhibit their talents, noting that despite industry challenges, the bank has been steadfast in the sponsorship of the league. She added: At times, one may feel that the sponsorship is not big but sustainability is key and I am happy that this is the seventh year of the programme.Sampson said she has noticed that the players get better every year; she praised them for their courage, promising that the bank would always support their growth. Speaking in the same vein, the Head of Corporate Communications, Victor Adeji, said the competition has taken a lot of females off the streets and made them champions. He assured that the bank would also make the championship more enduring and better to attract fans.NBBF Vice President, Muktar Khaleh, said the league would hold in three phases and the first phase would hold in Abuja from the 12th to 26th of this month. The second phase, according to him, will hold in Akure from July 9 to 20 while the final leg comes up in Lagos from August 4 to 13.Khaleh said that Abuja was chosen because of the riot that broke out in the north after the presidential election while Akure got the nod to host the second leg because the NBBF wants to test-run the new-built gymnasium.He added that the winner of the league would get N1 million, second place goes home with N500,000 while third position smiles home with N300,000, stating that there would be individual awards and prizes for outstanding players.President of the federation, Tijani Umar, commended the sponsor for keeping faith with the NBBF, saying that Zenith Bank has affected the lives of 150 families positively as over 150 players take part in the annual event.
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