Ebola puts more pressure on Nigeria sports

The outbreak of the Ebola virus is putting more pressure on sporting activities in Nigeria with more events being postponed indefinitely.

The all Nigeria secondary schools basketball championship billed to start on Tuesday in Lagos was postponed on Monday following a meeting between the sole sponsors, Nestle Milo and the National Schools Sports Federation. The competition stands postponed indefinitely. Also on Monday, an international football talent hunt programme organised by Qatar-based Aspire Group was moved to December.

The competition, which picks young players for further training at the Aspire facilities in Doha, was meant to start this weekend. But their Nigerian affiliates told The PUNCH that the decision was based on the emergency declared on the Ebola virus in the country. Last weekend, an international taekwondo competition organised by the Chika Chukwumerije Sports Foundation was postponed indefinitely for the same reason.

The Nestle Milo letter to the 12 schools and other officials in the finals read, “In view of the spread of the Ebola virus and the Federal Government declaring a state of emergency, we believe it is in the best interest of all stakeholders to postpone the forthcoming Milo Secondary School Basketball Championships. As a responsible company, we want to ensure the safety of everyone involved even as the government is also tasking schools to take caution.”

The company based their decision on a statement from Abuja on Friday.

The letter added, “In a statement sent out on Friday and signed by his Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Reuben Abati, the President admonished state governments and private day care, nursery, primary and secondary schools owners to consider the option of extending the current school holiday until such a time when a national reassessment of the level of the Ebola threat is conducted.

But the Ebola pressure is not less in Nigeria compared to the effect in Sierra Leone and Liberia where all sporting activities have been halted. Their national teams and clubs are now seeking cooperation from some other West African countries to use their countries as home grounds for their matches.

Togo, for instance, wants next month’s Africa Cup of Nations game in Guinea to be moved because of fears about the Ebola virus, the BBC reported. The match, the responsibility of the Confederation of African Football, is scheduled for 5 or 6 September and is in the first group round of qualifiers.

More than 300 people have died from Ebola in Guinea, the origin of the outbreak which is also now centred on neighbouring Liberia and Sierra Leone.

“We are scared by the situation,” the Togo Football Federation said.

The TFF said it would follow advice from its government, which would likely prevent the party travelling to Guinea. Nations Cup qualifiers involving Sierra Leone are already under scrutiny after the country said it would not host any football matches until further notice because of Ebola.

BBC Sport has learned Sierra Leone wants to play its home matches in Ghana and has made a request to the country’s football association.

Ghana FA spokesman Ibrahim Sane told BBC Sport, “We have asked the Sierra Leone Football Association to use the government to contact our foreign ministry and ministry of health for clearances.”