Date: 2016-08-31

No fewer than 80 children participated as the 6th edition of Droplets Basketball clinic got underway in Ilorin, Kwara on Tuesday.

The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), reports that the week-long clinic organised by the founder of Droplets Basketball Concept Kwara, Olatunji Ayeni, is for children between ages seven and 15.

Ayeni, Chief Executive Officer (CEO)of Droplets told newsmen in Ilorin that the clinic as organised to develop, propagate and inculcate the sport into the children at an early stage.

The clinic holding at the Kwara Stadium Basketball Court had no fewer than 80 children in attendance.

Ayeni, who is based in the United States of America (USA), said the clinic currently in its 6th edition was organised in partnership with the Kwara Basketball Association. The former Kwara Falcons basketball club player described the initiative as home-grown, noting that he organised the event as a means of giving back to the society.

He lamented that basketball was usually introduced late to Nigerian children unlike their counterparts in the United States who start playing the game at the age of seven.

"New York alone has over 1000 basketball programs. "When I arrived in the U.S. with my family, my daughters started playing from ages seven and nine. "At 14, she already has seven years playing experience and she plays for her class in the primary school basketball programme. "I am very worried about how late we start our career in basketball and that was what pushed me to organise this clinic," Ayeni said. According to him, the clinic is open to children across the 16 local government areas of the state free of charge.

"I plan to make the children and their parents develop interest in basketball," he said. Ayeni who disclosed that 197 children participated in the 2015 edition of the clinic expressed the hope that more children would participate in the current edition.

He commended the State Basketball Association, Veterans of basketball, the State Sports Council and New York based individuals and organisations for their support in organising the clinic. In his remarks, Tunde Kazeem, Director of Sports, Kwara Sports Council, said the Droplets basketball clinic had provided a platform to harvest and nurture children with basketball talents in the state.

Kazeem who commended the organisers of the event called on individuals and corporate organisations to invest in sports for the development of the State.