ABA To Hold Referees’ Clinic Ahead Of Inaugural Basketball Academies Championship

The Amateur Basketball Academies (ABA) will organise a three-day referees’ clinic in Abuja next week as part of preparations for its inaugural Amateur Basketball Academies Championship.

The clinic will take place from 9 to 11 July 2026 at Package B of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium, Abuja, and is aimed at young men and women aged between 17 and 25.

In a statement issued on Friday, ABA Head of Media and Public Relations, Kayode Adeniyi, said the decision was reached after a four-hour board meeting held at the indoor multipurpose hall of the Moshood Abiola National Stadium.

According to the statement, participants must be students with a sound knowledge of basketball and must be drawn from the Federal Capital Territory and neighbouring areas.

The association said the initiative is designed to produce a new generation of basketball officials capable of meeting international standards, while also providing young people with opportunities to build careers in basketball officiating.

The three-day programme will combine classroom instruction with practical sessions. Practical training will cover court positioning, mechanics, movement, rotation, whistle technique and timing, as well as the interpretation of violations and fouls. Classroom sessions will focus on the rules of the game, rule interpretation, types of violations and fouls, and effective game management.

The board also resolved to extend the association’s activities to Taraba, Gombe, Adamawa and Benue states as part of its nationwide expansion drive, following the successful organisation of coaches’ and trainers’ clinics in Minna, Niger State, last month.

In another key decision, the board approved the decentralisation of venues for the maiden ABA Championship across designated zones within the Federal Capital Territory, instead of staging the competition solely in the city centre.

The board urged members to remain committed to the association’s objectives, reiterating that the ABA was established to unite basketball academies across Nigeria under one umbrella rather than serve as a platform for politics.

Those present at the meeting included ABA President DC Aliyu Lucky Abubakar, Mazi Valentine Orji, Kayode Adeniyi, Coach Adeka Daudu, Coach Emmanuel Odah, Coach Alex Ujoh, Coach Oyekan Oyedeji, and the Board Secretary, Genevieve Ogechi Ihenewengwa.