
SIGNIFICANT progress has been made in the quest to bring back the Ogbe Hard Court International Tennis Championship.
The tournament, held in Benin City, the Edo State capital, used to be one of Africa’s major events in the tennis calendar every year.
Throughout the 1970s, 1980s, 19990s and early 2000s, the international championship attracted the best players from across Nigeria, Africa and the world, as Benin City became the global centre of attention.
The Ogbe Hard Court was in the prestigious Association of Tennis Professionals calendar in the 1980s and attracted global superstars such as the late American legend Arthur Ashe and a host of other greats.
It also produced some of Nigeria’s greatest players, including David Imonitie, Veronica Oyibokia and Nduka ‘the Duke’ Odizor, the only player from the country to ever reach the round of 16 at the Wimbledon Grand Slam.
Now, the people of Edo State and tennis enthusiasts across Nigeria and Africa are on the verge of witnessing a return of the world-class event.
The Edo State Sports Commission and stakeholders in the state have put plans in motion to facilitate the return of the Ogbe Hard Court.
As part of the plans to return the event to the circuit after a 14-year absence, the Chairman of Edo State Sports Commission and three-time Olympian, Yusuf Alli, and the Executive Director, Marketing, Sponsorship and Media Communication, Hon Frank Ilaboya, this week held a preliminary meeting with the executives of OE& E Consulting regarding marketing and sponsorship of the prestigious tournament.
The target for the grand return of the Ogbe Hard Court is November in Benin City, and the ESSC and others involved in organising the tournament are confident they will achieve this aim.
Comments are closed.