Engr. Sani Ndanusa, the former President of the Nigeria Tennis Federation and former Minister of Youth and Sports in Nigeria, has praised the sponsors of the ITF World Tour events in Abuja, applauding their consistency and efforts.
The ITF World Tour in Abuja comprises three M25+ tournaments, the Tombim Abuja Open, the Dayak Tennis Championships, and the GSL Open, which run for 3 weeks at the National Tennis Centre in Abuja. It began in 2015, with the Tombim Abuja Open, before the Dayak Championships joined a year later, and the GSL Open debuting in 2017.
“I want to thank and congratulate the sponsors of the Tombim, Dayak and GSL for their consistency,” said Engr. Ndanusa. “This is the 5th time this tournament is being held here in Abuja and it has been growing from standard to standard.”
Players from all over the world come to Abuja annually to jostle for vital ranking points & a share of the $75,000 total prize pot. Over the years, there has been an increase in participating players from different parts of the world. Not only does this foster more competition, Engr. Ndanusa noted that it also projects Nigeria as a nation in good light.
“I’m glad the number of countries participating has also increased and the level of the acceptance of the tournament itself is global. It is one of the few tournament that projects Nigeria as a country, projects Nigeria as a tourism destination, project Nigeria as an investment destination, project Nigeria as a peaceful country.
“We have them here from about 20 countries and they are here for 3 weeks, nothing happens, very comfortable, happy, you can see everyone smiling. So, that value addition to the economy of this country is very high. I’m glad the sponsors have kept it up, it’s not easy.”
Ndanusa, who has held quite a number of high-profile positions nationally and internationally, including being a former President of the Nigeria Olympic Committee and former Vice Presdient of the Confederation of African Tennis, reiterated his appreciation for the organizers and sponsors of the event, seeing how it has contributed in the growth of the country’s economy.
“I thank Tombim, Dayak and GSL for using tennis to grow the economy of Nigeria. Because this is beyond tennis, it’s an economic development strategy to position Nigeria.”
The ITF World Tour will end its annual 3-week stop in Abuja this week, with the GSL Open bringing the curtain down on what’s been a spectacular show of tennis so far.
