Press Release
The availability of baseball equipment is one of the factors retarding the development of the game in Nigeria.
This was disclosed by the Secretary General, Nigeria Baseball and Softball Association, NBSA, Mr Kehinde Laniyan at the formal handing over ceremony of equipment donated by Marubeni Baseball Club of Japan on Tuesday in Abuja. He added that most players and teams owners could not get equipment to buy in the market.
The donation which is a personal effort by Mr Funayama Shinichiro, the Project Coordinator with Marubeni Engineering Company of Nigeria also involved. The donation included bats, balls, gloves, and chest and leg protectors.
Mr Laniyan thanked the donor for his good gesture and further urged for extended partnership in areas of training, sponsorship and participation in international championships while calling on sports donors, sponsors and government agencies to give support to baseball.
Mr Funayama Shinichiro in his remarks stated that he was led to the donation of equipment when he noticed a total lack of equipment in a baseball team practicing in Nyanyan, a suburb of the Federal Capital Territory, FCT, Abuja. He said the equipment was fairly used by his club in Japan and hopes it will help in the development of the game in Nigeria.
The Chairman, NBSA FCT Chapter, Hajia Ladi Suleiman, commended Marubeni Baseball club of Japan for the good gesture and for recognizing the game in Nigeria, while the Secretary of the FCT Chapter Mrs Mariam Biu added that the gesture will go a long way in the grassroots development of baseball.