TheCable

Gewo, a Germany-based table tennis manufacturing company, will kit Nigeria’s national teams to major competitions for the next three years.

The deal was sealed in Halmstad, Sweden by Ishaku Tikon, president of the Nigeria Table Tennis Federation (NTTF), and Gewo’s representative Florian Wehner.

According to a statement made available to TheCable on Sunday, the deal will provide the Nigerian teams ITTF-approved equipment while 10 junior players will be supported with clothing, blades, and rubbers.

Also, two top Nigerian players will be eligible for a once-a-year training camp in Europe.

Tikon described the deal as a step forward for the sport in Nigeria.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

Segun Toriola, Nigeria’s captain, said, “we are excited and we hope it will be a continuous alliance.”

Wehner, who signed the deal on behalf of Gewo, said the quality of table tennis in Nigeria was the motivating factor behind the partnership.

“We respect Nigeria and they are one of the best table tennis playing nations in the world,” he said.

“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.”

The Hamburg-based company also kits top playing nations like Serbia and Iran.