The "Africa 55 Koshien Project" has launched in Nigeria!

Hideki Matsui gives remote batting instruction to young people in Africa for the first time.

Kenshin Kawakami participates online from Nagoya.

The Africa Baseball & Softball Promotion Foundation (J-ABS, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Shinya Tomonari) held a baseball clinic in Abuja, the capital of Nigeria, on May 22nd for 50 baseball and softball coaches and other participants, with former Major League players Hideki Matsui and Kenshin Kawakami providing remote instruction.

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Hideki Matsui, J-ABS Executive Dream Partner, who coached the batting team, watched videos of Nigerian players batting beforehand and recorded advice for the players. On the day of the event, the players and coaches watched the videos on-site. For pitching, Kenshin Kawakami, a special coach at J-ABS, provided live online instruction from Japan. Kawakami connected online with the Abuja National Stadium in the capital city of Abuja and Nagoya, where he was staying, and provided live instruction to two players who were pitching, as well as answering questions.

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This time, for the first time in this project, two former Major League Baseball players provided concrete baseball technique instruction to people in Africa, albeit remotely. Players and coaches commented, "It's like a dream to be able to receive instruction from players who have played in Japan and MLB," and Kenshin Kawakami said, "I would be happy if the knowledge I gained from playing baseball could help even a little to boost their motivation. I hope that more people will take up baseball for its own sake. I hope that coaches will start saying, 'Soccer (which is probably the most popular sport in Africa) is good, but baseball is good too.'" Prior to this, on May 20th, a press conference was held in the capital Abuja together with the Nigerian Baseball and Softball Association (NBSA). A memorandum of understanding for the Nigerian Baseball Development Project was signed, and it was announced that the "Africa 55 Koshien Project" will start in Nigeria, following Tanzania and Ghana, with the aim of holding a national tournament similar to the Koshien tournament in the future. Ambassador Kazuyoshi Matsunaga, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Japan to Nigeria, attended the press conference, while Abubakar Moriki Husseini, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Nigeria to Japan, also participated online.

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J-ABS is seeking "Dream Partners" (individuals and corporations) to help us advance the "Africa 55 Koshien Project." Please contact us through our website.