Chiney Ogwumike, the 2014 WNBA Rookie of the Year, All-Star and former first
overall pick in the WNBA draft, has joined ESPN as the co-host of SportsCenter
across sub-Saharan Africa. Ogwumike, who earlier this year signed a multi-year
extension with the WNBA’s Connecticut Sun, will co-host the African edition of
SportsCenter.
Ogwumike joins co-host Phil Murphy on SportsCenter in Africa, bringing sports
fans across 19 sub-Saharan nations a nightly look at the latest in International
and American sports news, highlights and updates in the program’s signature
fast-paced format. The daily edition of the iconic program is produced for the
ESPN channel on the Kwesé television platform as part of a long-term multimedia
collaboration between Econet Media and ESPN and also provides video segments on
the co-branded KweseESPN website and app across Africa.
“I am thrilled to be joining ESPN to host this unique edition of SportsCenter
dedicated to sports fans across Africa,” said Ogwumike. “This is a wonderful
opportunity to combine who I am and what I am passionate about. As a
Nigerian-American professional women’s basketball player, and now SportsCenter
co-host, I want to inspire and empower rising generations across Africa and the
US to pursue their dreams.”
Charly Classen, Vice President and General Manager, ESPN EMEA, said of
Ogwumike’s new role, “We are incredibly excited to add somebody as talented,
knowledgeable and passionate as Chiney join the African edition of SportsCenter.
She brings a remarkable combination of deep, first-hand understanding of sport
and a longtime connection to Africa. Sports fans in Africa can expect that she
and Phil will deliver a dynamic, fun and fast-paced show.”
Ogwumike, who has already contributed to ESPN in recent weeks, is of
Nigerian-American descent. Both of her parents immigrated to the United States
from Nigeria, settling in the greater Houston, TX area. Raised there, Ogwumike
and all three of her sisters earned scholarships to play college basketball. She
and older sister Nneka played at Stanford before both going on to the WNBA,
where the two made history as the first siblings to go #1 overall in a
professional sports draft since the Manning brothers. Chiney was the top overall
draft pick in the 2014 WNBA Draft, a WNBA All-Star and the 2014 WNBA Rookie of
the Year. Sister Nneka went on to be named the 2016 WNBA MVP and lead the Los
Angeles Sparks to the 2016 WNBA Championship. Sisters Erica and Oliva play
basketball for the Rice University Owls.
Ogwumike has traveled regularly to Africa since childhood, visiting family,
studying and promoting basketball, education and youth empowerment. While a
student athlete at Stanford, she majored in International Relations and studied
abroad in Abuja, Nigeria, interning with the Nigerian government.
Last year, Econet Media’s Kwesé Sports and ESPN announced a long-term multimedia
collaboration across Africa, including the launch in March of an ESPN channel
exclusively on the Kwesé TV platform and the launch of a co-branded KweseESPN
website and app in May – where video plays a growing role in multimedia coverage
of an array of sports including Football, Basketball, Cricket, Rugby, Boxing,
MMA, Motorsports including F1, Indy500, Athletics, Tennis, the best in American
sports such as the NFL, MLB, NHL and much more – all with a uniquely African
perspective.
The collaboration marked ESPN’s return to television in Africa and brings
together Africa’s emerging home of premium sports with the world’s leading
sports media brand.
