Africa StarX, First-Ever Nigeria Basketball Reality Show Debuts Soon

Posted on September 2, 2022

OKAFOR CHINEDU MOSES

Nigeria’s first-ever basketball reality show, Africa StarX, is set to berth in Lagos in the last quarter of the year.

Benjamin Peters, the project’s initiator, unveiled the first season of the sports reality show at an elaborate event at the Ibis Hotel in Ikeja, Lagos, on Tuesday.

At the event, the organisers introduced sports journalist, Femi Adefeso, as the show host and Ogoh Odaudu, Chris Domingo, Taiye Adeniyi, Shola Shomala, Adewunmi Aderemi, and Abdulrahman Mohammed as coaches for the participants.

Mr. Peters described the reality show as a fusion of sports, lifestyle and entertainment, focusing on basketball this season.

“It is with joy and delight that we open the portal to submit entries for the first edition of the Africa StarX, where professionals and the general public will determine that next big basketball star.”

“The project has been designed as a platform to give opportunities to talented sportsmen to showcase their talents and get to the zenith of their careers through management and endorsement deals that we would be providing for the eventual winner,” he said.

Olanrewaju Bamidele Jaiyeola, the VP of Nigeria Basketball Federation, Babs Ogunade, Omotayo Henry Adeniyi, the project lead, Phillip Braide, Ogoh Odaudu, and Kolade Adu also attended the launch.

The project coordinator and lead, Henry Omotayo, disclosed that for the maiden season of Africa StarX, they would pick participants with interests in basketball across the country from 31 August till 30 September.

“Physical auditions will follow immediately after the entry submissions in Abuja, Port Harcourt, Kaduna, Enugu, and Lagos, after which a team of coaches will select the last 25, male and female, that will enter the house to participate in the show.

The 25 participants will bond and engage in different challenging activities for 30 days while slugging it out as a team and later as individuals to win the reality show,” Mr Omotayo said.

Mr Ogunade, and Olanrewaju Jaiyeola, lauded the initiative and the idea creator, saying it’s a beautiful development that will further contribute to the growth of sport and basketball in Nigeria.

Mr Omotayo also touched on the humanitarian side of the Africa StarX tagged Africa StarX Cares.

The project lead and coordinator noted that Africa StarX cares about the humanitarian angle of the project, which will see participants visiting charity organisations to donate, engage in community services, and contribute their quota to humanity.

The best team gets a cash reward of N10m, N2.5m for the most valuable player, a management deal and contract for international tryouts, and one participant also receives a college scholarship.