Ejike Foundation - EJIKE UGBOAJA FOUNDATION

Former President Terko Flek
Manager Name Ejike Ugboaja
Past Coach Telex Marko
Current Coach Aflex Telom
Location Nigeria

2006

Established in

245

347

Current Players

197

Top Players

Ejike Ugboaja foundation is promoted by a Nigerian professional basketball player – Mr Ejike Ugboaja, who holds the record of being the first African to be drafted to the NBA directly from Africa. Inspired by the opportunities he lacked as a young athlete, Ejike was moved to kick-start the organisation in the same year he was drafted to the Cleveland Cavaliers.

His unrivalled passion for the success of these young athletes drives the commitment to ensure they get an education first and are also exposed to potential opportunities for professional sportsmanship.

The Ejike Ugboaja Foundation has provided educational opportunities for over 130 young Nigerian athletes in the United States and Nigeria since its inception in 2006. As part of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative, Afren first identified with this foundation in 2012 and has consistently shown its support for the foundation’s annual summer camps. This partnership has helped to increase the scope of the foundation’s activities and its ability to cater to the rapidly increasing camp participants.

Thus far, the organisation has recorded multiple successes. It has secured scholarships in high schools and colleges across the United States for the athletes selected from its annual summer camps which are held in a number of major cities in Nigeria including Zaria, Yenegoa, Otukpo, Kaduna, Abuja and Uyo. Whilst the College Scholarships are fully comprehensive, the High School scholarships cover just the tuition of the students, which leaves the foundation with the responsibility of catering for their living expenses.

The support shown by the foundation for youth athletes in Nigeria is unprecedented, with a high turnout of participants at its annual camps. In June this year, over 1,300 athletes with the hope and aim of securing a brighter future showed up for the 2014 Summer Camp in Uyo. They trooped in from different parts of the country in groups and individually, with the objective of putting on a good show in the various sporting activities, to ensure they get selected. Out of the 1,300, 196 athletes (American Football – 86; Male Basketball – 70; Female Basketball – 40) were selected at the campgrounds.