Funds threaten D’Tigers World Cup campaign

D’Tigers’ earlier scheduled trip to China in continuation of their preparation for the FIBA World Cup may have suffered a setback over the paucity of funds, as the Nigeria Basketball Federation continues in its struggle to make money available.

Speaking on the team’s plan for the FIBA 2019 World Cup, General Manager of D’Tigers, Musa Adamu, declared yesterday saying: “I don’t know exactly when the team is leaving for China. The basketball federation has been doing a lot for this team. We started this elimination over a year ago and going to two years, the federation has been funding the trips for each window.

“Each window, we had to bring players, fly them down, accommodate them and also pay insurance. All these things have been done singlehandedly by the federation with a promise from the sports ministry to support us. But we are still expecting and hoping that they will do so before we leave for China,” Adamu stated.

The former Nigerian international revealed that despite plans to adequately prepare the team for the global sports fiesta, the unavailability of funds might just be the clog in the wheel of the team’s preparation.

“The team is here in Nigeria, so we hope that they will act because we don’t know when we will leave. There are no funds available for now. The federation is looking up to the Ministry with the hope that the funds will be released for us to leave.”

He appreciated the Engr. Musa Kida-led NBBF board for its selfless sacrifice throughout the qualifiers, just as he appealed to President Muhammadu Buhari to intervene and save the country from global embarrassment.

Adamu revealed that the current players in camp are talented, motivated and ready to represent Nigeria well, but funding had been a major issue.

Adamu admitted that the team, which became the first country in the world to qualify for the championship, may end up not participating at the World Cup, which will begin on August 29, if funds are not released on time by the Federal Government through the Ministry of Youth and Sports.