Tennista Foundation has established its ‘School Tennis Support Programme’, with Igbobi College serving as the foundation’s first beneficiary.
The initiative intends to provide tennis training for young people while also developing academic and life skills, with the goal of promoting physical and mental health.
Michael Nwoseh, Tennista Foundation’s Founder and President, underlined the organization’s dedication to using sports for societal reform. He emphasised the role of sports in guiding youth away from undesirable influences and towards positive efforts.
Tennista Foundation is a sports-based non-profit dedicated to developing young people via tennis and life-skills programmes, empowering them to excel in life and generate positive change in communities.
“We believe in the transformative power of sports and we understand that if you encourage young people into sports from an early age, you can actually get them to start thinking in the right direction,” Nwoseh added.
“You get them off bad vices. You get them focused on things they should be focusing on and more importantly help them to develop their physical and mental well-being, which is very important for balanced development.”
Tennista Foundation announced a donation of N250,000, a set of Tennis equipment to the Igbobi College, Yaba for the training of young Tennis talents and maintenance of the school’s Tennis court.
This programme is being piloted at Igbobi College, and the foundation has expressed its intent to expand such support to other schools locally and internationally.
Speaking at the launch, Nwoseh also mentioned: “We are proud to also make a donation of 250,000 Naira to the school. Our goal is to take this initiative across several schools within the continent of Africa and North America, by donating funds for the building and maintenance of the tennis courts, in addition to providing professional tennis coaching, to help harness the skills of these young talents.”
The event was attended by The Principal, Igbobi College, The Revd. Adedotun Oludolapo Akanbi, The Vice Principal Administration, The Revd. Olajide Isaiah Semako, Mr. Gabriel Fagbohun, Member Board of Advisors, Tennista Foundation, other Senior officials, and students of Igbobi College. Tenista Foundation was commended for aligning with the school’s mission of grooming tennis stars while instilling important life lessons.
“This will go a long way in helping us to actually actualize our vision. Our vision is to produce balanced students,” Revd. Semako said.
“You know, in playing Tennis, they learn so many other life skills like communication, self-awareness, leadership, teamwork, collaboration and so much more.
“They have given out the equipment. They are not only the equipment but even cash donations to ensure that the tennis court is maintained. And the boys, are able to learn other skills more than only academics.
“We need NGOs like Tenista Foundation to ensure that, to help us and to encourage the boys to ensure that they gain what we want them to gain.“