July 11, (THEWILL) – Nigeria’s Women’s basketball team has been hit by the resignation of Oderah Chidom, part of the successful AfroBasket team, who cited a “lack of professionalism” from the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) as the reason for her departure.
Chidom said: “The trigger for me was seeing an Instagram post of open tryouts in three different locations three weeks before Afrobasket. I will not be attending. I don’t think that’s professional at all. I consider myself a professional and I don’t think it’s okay for me to pay my way to try out for something when I think I have a resume that speaks for itself.”
Chidom further criticised the lack of communication and professionalism within the Federation, saying: “I have been blessed to play with a lot of teams where I have seen professionalism from management, and I don’t see those same qualities within our own federation. Everything that we do is super last minute. The level of professionalism is just not up to par with the constant production that we produce.”
NBBF President, Musa Kida, acknowledged the players’ concerns but defended the open tryouts, saying: “We did the same thing in 2017 and we raised a team that went on to win the AfroBasket in 2019.”
“Of course, we would like to see all the players show up, but we can’t force anyone to do so, and it is up to each player to make the decision that is best for them,” he added.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
