Ahead of the All Africa Senior Badminton Championship slated to hold from April 22 to 28 in Port Harcourt, Rivers State, the Badminton Federation of Nigeria (BFN) has called for entries for the championship’s mascot with a price money of N100,000 for the eventual winner.
The campaign for entries started last week with only residents of Rivers State eligible to participate in the contest aimed at giving them a sense of belonging, as the state prepares to host the best badminton players from across the continent.
According to the BFN president, Francis Orbih, entries would close on February 8, while a panel would decide the winning entry, which would be used to sensitise the state on the championship before and during the event.
“The BFN has decided to give the residents of Rivers State the opportunity to design the mascot. We are sure that this will give them a sense of belonging as we also expect them to turnout in large numbers to cheer the teams to victory,” Orbih said.
He added that encouraging them to submit entries for the mascot would create awareness for the championship in the state, while assuring that only entries from the state would be accepted.
Orbih said that after choosing the winning entry, a road-show would be held with the selected mascot taking around Port Harcourt as part of the activities to create publicity for the championship.
The BFN president thanked the Rivers State government for accepting to host the competition, saying that the gesture would go a long way in making the state one of the badminton hubs in Africa.
