Tenista Foundation has launched its ‘School Tennis Support Programme’ in partnership with Igbobi College as the pioneer school that has received support from the foundation.

The initiative aims to provide tennis training alongside academic and life skills development for young people, fostering physical and mental well-being.

The Founder and President of Tenista Foundation, Michael Nwoseh, emphasised the organisation’s commitment to leveraging sports for societal transformation.

He highlighted the importance of sports in steering the youth away from negative influences and towards positive endeavours.

Tenista Foundation is a sport-based non-profit organisation dedicated to the development of young people, using tennis, and life-skills programmes to empower them to succeed in life and drive positive change in communities.

“We believe in the transformative power of sports and we understand that if you encourage young people into sports from an early age, you can actually get them to start thinking in the right direction,” Nwoseh added.

“You get them off bad vices. You get them focused on things they should be focusing on and more importantly help them to develop their physical and mental well-being, which is very important for balanced development.”

Tennista Foundation announced a donation of N250,000, a set of Tennis equipment to the Igbobi College, Yaba for the training of young Tennis talents and maintenance of the school’s Tennis court.

The programme is being piloted at Igbobi College, and the foundation has expressed its intent to expand such support to other schools locally and internationally.

Speaking at the launch, Nwoseh also stated: “We are proud to also make a donation of N250,000 to the school. Our goal is to take this initiative across several schools within the continent of Africa and North America, by donating funds for the building and maintenance of the tennis courts, in addition to providing professional tennis coaching, to help harness the skills of these young talents.”

The event was attended by the Principal, Igbobi College, Rev. Adedotun Oludolapo Akanbi; the Vice-Principal Administration, Rev. Olajide Isaiah Semako; Mr. Gabriel Fagbohun, member, Board of Advisors, Tennista Foundation; other senior officials and students of Igbobi College, who commended Tenista Foundation for aligning with the school’s mission of grooming tennis stars while instilling important life lessons.

“This will go a long way in helping us to actually actualize our vision. Our vision is to produce balanced students,” Semako said.

“You know, in playing tennis, they learn so many other life skills like communication, self-awareness, leadership, teamwork, collaboration and so much more.

“They have given out the equipment. They are not only the equipment but even cash donations to ensure that the tennis court is maintained. And the boys are able to learn other skills more than only academics.

“We need NGOs like Tenista Foundation to ensure to help us and to encourage the boys to ensure that they gain what we want them to gain.“