NBSF President says federation to dig in more talents for Baseball5 from grassroots

Posted : 14 April 2023

The Ag. President, Nigeria Baseball and Softball Federation (NBSF), Yemisi Makanjuola on Monday said that the federation would comb the entire federation in their scout for Baseball5 players in Nigeria.

Makanjuola made the revelation in an interview with Africa Sport Network (ASN) while reflecting on the mission of the federation to populate the newly-introduced sport in Nigeria.

NBSF had organised a National Baseball5 Youth Championships held at Molade Okoya Thomas Indoor Sport Hall Teslim Balogun Stadium, Surulere.

The 3-day Baseball 5 National Youth Championship ended on Saturday had participants from Lagos, Akwa Ibom, Kwara and Ekiti.

Makanjuola on the mission of the federation to make the sport popular in Nigeria explained that NBSF had lined up series of cadet competitions all over the 36 states of the country and Abuja.

``Baseball5 is newly introduced in Nigeria and this is our first competition held in Lagos. We believe that the younger ones will easily grab the game.

``Baseball5 does not require much because the game can be played anywhere without equipment it's just the ball and nothing special, its like a football 5-aside,'' she said.

Makanjuola also revealed that Nigeria would be participating in the Baseball5 Championships in Ghana adding that the technical committee would select best players to represent the country.

``The Baseball5 will fly in Nigeria because we will focus more on the grassroots development, we have lined up U-15, 18 and senior Championships which will be regular.

``We are also set to host the little league in May and those that are in charge of hosting the tournament are veterans of the game.

``We will have the competitions in states, Zonal and national level and from there we will select the national team which will be a clear departure from what we have in the past.

``For 2023 calendar year, we will participate Baseball5 which is coming up May 18, Little League qualifiers and a programme which is a joint partnerships with Japan.

``Nigeria and Japan signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) on the development of Baseball5,'' she said.

Makanjuola added: ``The Japanese association will be coming back to Nigeria in May to run some programmes.

``Last year, the coaches are the beneficiaries of the programme as the were trained, but this year, it is the turn of the players and the coaches as well.

``The Japanese contingent will arrive in May and also come back to Nigeria in November. The reason is simple, we have a lot of talents in Nigeria.

``We also have those that have passion for the game and they are less expensive. I believe Nigeria will get it right in Baseball5,'' she said.

Lagos-based Adekalu Bull emerged winners of the National Baseball5 Youth Championships after they defeated Ekiti Glorious Liberty by 9-4 at the finals.

NBSF President says federation to dig in more talents for Baseball5 from grassroots

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