The Nigerian Basketball Federation has announced that the 2017 Season of the women`s basketball league will tip off on Monday 10th April 2017 in Abuja.
This announcement was made at the Zenith Bank headquarters in Lagos where the management of the bank announced its intention to renew the sponsorship of the league. The 2017 Season will be the 12th year of sponsorship of the women`s league.
“We take sports seriously and that is why we have been with basketball for this long period. It is a delight that many of the players have developed to represent Nigeria at international competitions and that is a success story for us. There have also been testimonies of players discovered through the league who are now playing abroad. This has given us joy that the initiative we started from humble beginning has grown to become a very big league" - Ebenezer Onyeagwu, Zenith Bank`s Deputy Managing Director
The partnership between Zenith Bank and female basketball in Nigeria, which started in 2005 when the league had only 5 teams, will not end anytime soon.
“We will continue to support the initiative, we have already signed on for the next three years. For as long as we see the continued professionalism there, we don’t see reason why we will stop the relationship because you don’t stop a winning team. We believe our collaboration is a winning one and our youths have now got commitment and we can only but make it bigger.”
Eighteen teams participated in the league last season and except Immigration who have opted out, the same set of teams will participate in the season this year. According to the President of the Nigerian Basketball Federation, six additional teams have indicated interest and have applied to be a part of the league.
"We are looking at a situation where we have to create a second tier league to care of the six new teams and the six weakest ones in the league while the top 12 teams will form the new Premier League like it is with the men’s league"
The teams expected to participate this season include;
1. AHIP Queens
2. Benue Princess
3. First Bank
4. First Deepwater
5. Oluyole Babes
6. Plateau Rocks
7. Sunshine Angels
8. Taraba Hurricanes
9. Coal City Queens
10. Customs
11. Delta Force
12. Dolphins
13. FCT Angels
14. GT2000
15. IGP Queens
16. Nasarawa Amazons
17. Zamfara Babes
Except a new format is announced, the league will be played in three phases; the first phase in Abuja and the Final Playoffs in Lagos. The venue for the second phase is yet to be announced.
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