The Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF) has begun preparations for the U-18 Boys National Team ahead of continental qualifiers.

The federation confirmed on Monday that the pre-selection screening camp will be held in Benin from Wednesday to July 3.

The exercise will take place at the Indoor Hall of the Samuel Ogbemudia Stadium, with top young talents expected.

NBBF spokesman Babs Ogunade said the camp represented a major step toward Nigeria’s participation in the FIBA Africa U18 Zone 3 Qualifiers.

The qualifiers are scheduled to take place in Burkina Faso from July 2 to July 15.

Mr Ogunade said the federation remained focused on identifying and developing future basketball stars across Nigeria.

He added that invited players emerged after extensive scouting and assessment exercises across different regions of the country.

The selected athletes will train under Coach Ikima Michael and the technical crew during the screening programme.

The coaching team will assess players’ technical ability, physical readiness, discipline and overall suitability for national representation.

At the end of the camp, Nigeria’s final squad for the Burkina Faso qualifiers will be selected.

The federation said the process formed part of a wider pathway aimed at building competitive national teams.

NBBF President Musa Kida said youth development remained central to the federation’s long-term basketball vision.

“The future of Nigerian basketball lies in our ability to consistently discover and develop young talents,” Mr Kida said.

He described the U-18 camp as another important step toward creating sustainable opportunities for young athletes.

“We are excited about the quality of talent emerging across the country,” the NBBF president added.

Mr Kida said the federation wanted more players to earn opportunities to represent Nigeria internationally.

National Teams General Manager Musa Adamu said the invited players deserved their chance through performances and potential.

“The federation has invested significant effort into talent identification over the past several months,” Mr Adamu said.

He noted that the Benin camp would help determine Nigeria’s representatives in Burkina Faso.

According to Mr Adamu, the programme is also designed to strengthen Nigeria’s long-term player development structure.

Following the qualifiers, selected local players will continue preparations through another camp from July 16 to July 25.

The federation will also organise a United States training camp and talent evaluation programme in Chicago.

The Chicago programme, scheduled for July 23 to July 25, will assess eligible Nigerian diaspora players.

Players from Nigeria and abroad will later converge in Côte d’Ivoire for final preparations.

The joint preparation camp will be held from July 27 to August 3.

It will precede the FIBA U-18 AfroBasket Championship Finals scheduled for Côte d’Ivoire.

The federation said the approach combined homegrown talent with eligible diaspora players.

The NBBF believes the strategy will help Nigeria remain competitive on the African stage. 

(NAN)