Stats: 3,185,964 members, 7,927,875 topics. Date: Thursday, 22 August 2024 at 02:08 AM |
Nairaland Forum / Entertainment / Sports / Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company (755 Views)
New type of events with good win rates / Rising Karting Star, Ugo Ugochukwu Signs Long Term Agreement With McLaren / First Lagos Veterans Basketball Appreciates Ugo Udezue Of AFA Sports (2) (3) (4)
Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by raker300: 5:38am On Jun 20, 2021 |
The founder of AFA Sports is turning athletic and athleisure wear into an economic force for the continent. When Ugo Udezue left his plush job as a National Basketball Association (NBA) agent at one of the top firms in the United States four years ago, he never imagined he would go on to pioneer the first and only African sports apparel company to officially outfit a team at the Olympic Games in Japan this year. At least, that wasn’t the initial plan. It certainly would have been easier to stay in California with a client roster that included players from the Golden State Warriors to the Brooklyn Nets. After all, Udezue had been in the US since the mid-1990s, when a basketball scholarship lured him from his native Nigeria. But after he made it in America, his homeland beckoned with new opportunities. “I came back to Africa with the idea of starting a continental league that would match the NBA,” the former player-turned-agent told Al Jazeera. “All the best sports talent comes from Africa, even the likes of LeBron James can trace their lineage back to the motherland (sic).” Udezue, who describes himself as Pan-African, is passionate about unifying the continent through business and sport. “It’s important for Africans to show the opportunity in the continent, that Africa is viable for business and that Africans will spend money on a product if it’s good,” the 43-year-old said. Udezue was in the throes of establishing the Continental Basketball League in 2017 when his next business venture sprouted. At the time it was simply to meet the surplus kit and equipment demands of the league, which had expanded to 10 teams in six African countries. “When we started the league I noticed that the basketballs were very slippery because they were made for air-conditioned gyms and we all know that there aren’t too many of those in Africa,” Udezue said matter-of-factly, ”so I went to China and developed a ball that absorbs sweat and immediately we witnessed less turnovers in the game as a result.” The self-described disruptor didn’t stop there. “From my experience as a player, I realised that the majority of Africans have flat feet, so we also developed the ‘Breeze’ shoe that accommodates that to lessen the need for separate insoles.” That formed the premise of AFA Sports, which means “Africa for Africa” and which has grown to become one of the continent’s hottest sports merchandising and apparel companies. “Our tagline is ‘This Is Ours,’” Udezue said, in reference to the traditional communal culture within the continent. “We’re trying to build something that is not individualistic.” Indeed, the name “LIV (54)” was even inscribed on one of AFA’s first lines, with 54 flags to represent the number of countries on the African continent. Read more here: https://www.aljazeera.com/economy/2021/6/18/ugo-udezue-from-nba-agent-to-unifying-africa-through-sport 2 Likes 1 Share
|
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by raker300: 5:39am On Jun 20, 2021 |
I am astounded. These dot republic ppl aren’t here to play 3 Likes |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by xpressionx(m): 5:41am On Jun 20, 2021 |
Onye Dot. 5 Likes |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by AlhajiNatty(m): 5:42am On Jun 20, 2021 |
Na eziokwu, this is a well thought up idea brought to fruition. Actually very commendable if you ask me. Such business acumen can only come from Umuchukwuokike abiama. Igbo Amaka biko jare! #FullTimeOnyeDot #OnyeSpareParts #BiafranBoy #ForTheIgboCulture 2 Likes |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by AlhajiNatty(m): 5:42am On Jun 20, 2021 |
Splendid! 1 Like |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by TrebleChamp(m): 6:09am On Jun 20, 2021 |
Nice |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by raker300: 9:58am On Jun 20, 2021 |
Why isn’t this on front page yet? |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by Queenslander(f): 1:53pm On Jun 20, 2021 |
Igbo amaka |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by raker300: 7:27pm On Jun 20, 2021 |
AlhajiNatty:a master stroke, if u ask me. Such feats are highly commendable. |
Re: Ugo Udezue Invent New Type of Shoes And Basketball.Starts Sports Apparel Company by BigSarah(f): 6:52am On Jun 24, 2021 |
Way to go 1 Like |
(1) (Reply)
Free Double Chance Prediction / UEFA Urges FIFA To Stop Pushing Biennial World Cup Plan / Tottenham Vs Arsenal: North London Derby Combined XI
(Go Up)
Sections: politics (1) business autos (1) jobs (1) career education (1) romance computers phones travel sports fashion health religion celebs tv-movies music-radio literature webmasters programming techmarket Links: (1) (2) (3) (4) (5) (6) (7) (8) (9) (10) Nairaland - Copyright © 2005 - 2024 Oluwaseun Osewa. All rights reserved. See How To Advertise. 14 |