This is official. The Nigerian Communications Commission (NCC) will continue to sponsor the NCC Tennis Tournament, its Acting Executive Vice Chairman (EVC) Prof. Umar Garba Danbatta has confirmed, adding that the decision to continue sponsorship of the tennis championship was buoyed by the sterling success recorded so far in the maiden edition which entered the final stage at the weekend. “We will continue to sponsor this tournament”, an elated Danbatta said.

He spoke at the National Stadium, Abuja, venue of the second Semi- final of the Tennis National Tournament at the weekend. NCC, he said, will also review the prize money upward to ensure that as many teams are attracted from different parts of the country. He said the tournament has helped to foster national unity even as it has elicited more enthusiasm for tennis.

A visibly excited Danbatta who went down memory lane said, he remembered with nostalgia the escapades of Nigeria’s Nduka Odizor who reached the round of 16 in Wimbledon of 1983.

To Danbatta, Odizor was easily one of the global tennis greats at the time but sadly “Nigerian players have not made the desired impact in global Tennis circuits since then.

According to Danbatta: “We are witnesses to how tennis stars have brought fame and fortune to themselves and their nations, and we want to be identified to taking these talented players in Nigeria to the circuit”.

He told the audience at the stadium including, President, Nigeria Tennis Federation, Mr. Sani Ndanusa, President, International Tennis Academy, Mr. Godwin Kienka among others that the main objective of the NCC sponsorship of the tournament is to raise the level of Lawn Tennis which is one of the most popular and lucrative sporting activities.

“Part of our objective is to help in nurturing and exposing these talents through robust competition so as to help them perfect their skills. It is also promoting peace and friendship among the players as this has taken the game to various locations of the country where such competitions have not been held. So far, several matches have been played in Lagos, Port Harcourt, Asaba, Onitsha, Abeokuta, Kaduna, Abuja, and Enugu, with the finals scheduled for Lagos. Another objective of this tournament is so fruitfully engage the players, officials and the youth in some value-driven activities associated with this competition.”

Danbatta said the NCC is glad that most of the objectives of this project have been realized. “We understand that most of the best Nigerian players are featuring in this year’s edition, which has made the quality of the competition to be very high. The cross-section of the people that matter in Nigerian Lawn Tennis sport have honoured us with their presence in some of the tournaments, including Nduka Odizor that I spoke about. We are happy the way the tournament has been organized as shown by the huge turnout at this second semi-final.”

“This is the maiden edition of this tournament, and we are very happy the way the Commission’s gesture has been received since this league tennis was launched on May 23, 2015. We are proud to have added a new version of competition that has energized activities in the Nigerian lawn tennis calendar.

The first Semi-final held in Enugu last week and the winners of the Enugu Semi- final and the Abuja Semi-final will meet at the final in Lagos on December 4 and 5, 2015.