Team Nigeria in high spirit, departs for Ghana

A Team Nigeria baseball squad comprising 20 players, coaches and a manager will travel to Accra today for the West Zone One of Africa’s Olympic qualifiers holding between March 22 and 24 in Ghana.

The African qualifiers, which is grouped into four zones, including West, East, South and North, will see Nigeria battle for one of the two tickets in the West Zone One group that also has hosts, Ghana, Tunisia, Cote d’Ivoire and Burkina.

According to the Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association Secretary Technical Commission, Omotosho Adeola, 20 athletes were picked from the 45 players called to camp from the 10 states where there is baseball league for the qualifiers, adding that a German-based player, Jimi Kolawole will also be part of the team for the qualifiers.

“I want to assure the country that the team is in high spirits. This is another opportunity for Nigeria’s flag to be hoisted at the Olympics. We have a team made up of experienced players, who have featured in the Africa Games and the Cup of Nations.

“The Association brought in three high calibre coaches and a manager, who have been handling the team for the past two weeks; going through the rigour in training for the competition,” he said.

Also speaking on Monday, Team Nigeria captain, Twaki Sunday Legbo thanked the technical crew on behalf of the players for their efforts during the selection process.

“I want to say that the spirit is high in the camp and we believe that by the grace of God we will pick one of the tickets for the next stage of the qualifiers for the Olympics. “We appreciate the support of the technical crew and also the support we have so far received even though it was not enough. But we believe with the current support, we will not disappoint Nigeria and we will come back with the ticket God’s willing,” he said.

The Team Manager, Ogunseye Oluwasola said technically that the team was prepared and ready to do well and pick a ticket for the next round in South Africa slated for May this year.“I am very optimistic that Nigeria will qualify for the Olympics if we have the right support from the government and individuals to help this game,” he added.