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Lagos Badminton Boss, Francis Orbih, Bids to Head Federation

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BY CHINWE EDOGA.

 

The chairman of Lagos State Badminton Association of Nigeria (LSBA), Francis Orbih, who is aspiring to the position of President of Badminton Federation of Nigeria, has promised to elevate the standard of the game in the country if elected in the June 13 election in Abuja.

He was also a vice president in the board that was recently dissolved by the Ministry of Sports.

Orbih, under whose tenure the Lagos Badminton Association held two international classics that drew prominent players from 26 countries from all the continents of the world, hopes to do the same at the national level.

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The Lagos International Classics according to him gave Nigerian players international exposure and also aided their rankings. The Classics is the highest category of Badminton World Federation sanctioned championship to be hosted by any African country.

A total cash prize of $15,000 (Fifteen Thousand dollars) was at stake at each of the two editions.

While declaring his intention to head the BFN, Orbih said he will put in place measures that will make the game in Nigeria as well as the association a reference point for other African countries.

Some of his promises, which are contained in his campaign manifesto, are to focus on grassroots development of the game by introducing age grade tournaments in schools to discover young talents; repackaging the game to be more organized and attractive for better sponsorship across the country; and to make badminton equipment more affordable and available for the growth of the game across the country.

Orbih also promised to encourage the establishment of functioning badminton associations in all states in the country to help ease administration as well as ensure a “busy calendar of tournaments” for badminton players in the various states.

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“He also promised sustaining international and zonal championships already in existence.”

He therefore solicited for the support of the stakeholders of Badminton in the country to make his dreams of taking the sports back to her place and position in Africa a reality.

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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