Shammah Makpa, secretary-general of Nigeria Tennis Federation ( NTF) has revealed that the federation’s camp will formally open today, July 1, for Nigerian players participating in the 2024 Davis Cup.
The event which is an Africa Group three qualifying round is scheduled to hold from July 15 to 20 at the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja.
Makpa told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) yesterday in Abuja that the federation’s angels would continue to raise the bar on their preparedness.
“This is our first time hosting the event in Abuja and the NTF have been preparing for this assignment from the very beginning up to this moment.
“We will make sure that everything goes according to plan for a successful hosting experience of the competition,” he said.
Makpa said that two components are involved in the arrangements for the event, first of all as the host and secondly, Nigerian players are participating.
“As the host, we will make sure that the facilities are in good condition as well as the equipment needed for the event.
“We have been preparing for this event and as you can see, we are visiting the areas to make sure that we put final touches,” he said.
He said that the Nigeria team have started arriving in camp ahead July1, when it will formally open.
“We have between six and eight players in the camp, of whom only five will actually represent Nigeria.
“Nevertheless, we are doing well and we are confident that with God everything will go according to plan for a hitch-free qualification.
“We have the likes of David Ekpenyong, Daniel Adeleye, Uche Oparaojie ,Michael Emmmanuel, Christopher Bulus, among others, who will be in camp participating in the competition.
“They are experienced players, in fact three of them had competed in the 2023 Davis Cup Africa Group IV qualifying rounds match in Kigali, Rwanda,”he said.
The secretary said that based on their experiences, they performed very well in 2023 and won the majority of their games that led to the country’s qualification and promotion for Group three alongside Ghana.
“The players will be able to represent Nigeria with pride because they are already in good shape and are fully prepared,” he said..
Makpa expressed confidence that with the backing of the NTF board, the country will host a good tournament that would be adjudged as one of the most successful Davis Cup ever.
NAN reports that a total of six countries are expected to participate in the event, which include host Nigeria, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Ivory Coast, Benin Republic and Ghana. They will be competing for two slots in Group II in the qualifying round.
