Organisers of the yearly Nestle Milo Secondary Schools Basketball Championship, the Nigeria School Sports Federation (NSSF) has warned participating schools in this year’s edition of the championship to steer clear of making use of mercenaries.
Secretary of the NSSF, . Bisi Joseph, told TheNiche that tough measures await erring schools and their officials.
“We will not relent in our efforts in ensuring that we stop the use of mercenaries by schools in this championship.
“This is a school sport event, meant for students still in schools and not those that have passed out. In the past, we had sanctioned schools that paraded mercenaries to the extent of disqualifying such schools from participating and banning them for a certain period of time.
“This year, which is the 16th edition, will not be an exception. We’ve written to officials of all the participating schools on this issue and we are not going to compromise.
“We want the best for the students, for the championship, and part of the ways to get the best is to ensure that only bona fide students participate in the championship.
“We will not hesitate to sanction any school as well as officials caught violating the rules and regulations of the championship,” she said.
The championship is organised yearly by the NSSF in conjunction with the National Collegiate Sports Foundation (NCSF) under the supervision of the Nigeria Basketball Federation, but sponsored by Nestle Nigeria Plc.
International School, University of Lagos, prevailed over St. Joseph Secondary School of Makurdi, Benue State, by 56-47 points to win the boys’ category of the championship last year.
In the girls’ event, defending champions, St. Jude’s Girls Secondary School from Bayelsa State triumphed over Government Secondary School, Gboko, Benue State by 26-18 points to retain the coveted trophy.