Three wheelchair tennis players have appealed for sponsorship to enable them participate in the International Wheelchair Tennis Championship, coming up in Kenya in February.

The Kenya championship will serve as qualifiers for the Banque Nationale de Paris (BNP) Paribas World Team Cup, scheduled to begin on March 17, 2022 in Instanbul, Turkey.

The wheelchair tennis players are William-Terlumun Ukari, Wasiu Yusuf and Dorcas-Foluke Shodeinde.

Mr Ukari told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Thursday in Abuja that each player would require at least N1.5 million for air ticket and entry fee.

He urged the Federal Ministry of Youth and Sports Development, private organisations and philanthropists to help fund the trip.

“We were unable to meet up with some of the championships due to lack of funds; this time we are urging private firms, philanthropists and lovers of sports to support us.

“This is the only work we have and we need to participate in some of these international events to grow beyond our level.

“We are fathers and mothers in our families and we must bring food on the table to feed our families, we need help, we need support, we need sponsors,” Mr Ukari lamented.

He said the entry fee for each player is 350 dollars while the flight ticket is N380,000 per player.

The Wheelchair Tennis Open in Nairobi will hold from February 28 to March 10, 2022.

(NAN)