NTTF secures kit deal for national teams

Nigeria’s rising profile in table tennis globally has continued to attract attention as a Germany-based kits manufacturing firm – Gewo, has entered into a three-year contract with the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF).

According to the contract, Gewo will be the official kits sponsor for the national table tennis teams both at junior and senior levels to major international tournaments across the globe.

Also, Gewo is expected provide ITTF approved equipment for the duration of the contract (2018-2020) while 10 junior players will also be offered support with Gewo providing them with clothing, blades and rubbers, while two top players will have once in a year training camp in Europe with Gewo offsetting the expenses.

For Captain Segun Toriola, the contract would help the national teams when it comes to equipment and kits to major tournaments. “We hope that this is the beginning of good thing to come to table tennis in Nigeria. We are excited and we hope it will be a continuous alliance,” Toriola said.

For the NTTF President, Ishaku Tikon, this is a step forward for the sport. “I am so excited about this contract and this is a result of the efforts our players have made at global level in recent times. We believe this will take away the burden of equipment from us and empower our players to play with the latest equipment in the sport. I hope that this will inspire our players to aim higher in order to attract more international companies to the sport,” the NTTF boss said.

According to Gewo’s representative – Florian Wehner, the decision to sign with the NTTF was based on the continuous rising tennis profile of Nigeria.

“We respect Nigeria and they are one of the best table tennis playing nations in the world. Their players are among the world’s best and for us at Gewo, we are the best and we want to be identified with the best. We would have loved to sign for more years but we believe that this is a start of a good thing ahead. We are at home with Nigerian players because they are polite and respectful and this for us are traits we want to be identified with in the world,” Wehner.