FIBA Africa Zone 6 Weekly Review: 02/09/2024

FIBA Africa Zone 6 Weekly Review: 02/09/2024

FIBA U18 AfroBasket is taking place in Pretoria, South Africa, and the organization could not have been any less chaotic. Basketball South Africa (BSA) is the national federation of the host nation and should have prepared adequately for such an event. However, their lack of preparedness forced the minister to remove them from the organizing committee and to instead give this to a local sporting events company, LoqDown Sports.

This led to teams not being welcomed by official delegations, not having their accommodation sorted and even some teams not getting any food – in the case of Cameroon, having to resort to buying KFC for their players. So what does this mean for basketball in South Africa? All stakeholders are waiting to see what the minister will say after the FIBA U18 AfroBasket Tournament has taken place. There is a need for reform and that could lead to the federation going under curatorship although this can be a difficult legal battle as the leadership of the federation is an elected position. Meanwhile, the future of basketball in the country remains gloomy.

Basketball National League (BNL) maintains its position as the biggest league in South Africa despite not being recognized by the national federation, BSA. The league has continued to host games and get them televised on the biggest sports channel in Africa, SuperSport TV. Despite the success they have enjoyed this season, they cannot shy away from controversy. This came after teams were handed forfeits for fielding foreign players without the right documentation. It appears that almost every team in the league fielded foreign players that have an illegal status in the country.

This came after a whistleblower brought this information to the attention of the league. There are many saying that they should have never gotten to this as all documents are submitted to the league weeks prior to the start of the league. Consequently, this questions the league’s ability to run such a huge competition if they are failing to conduct the necessary due diligence. As a result of these forfeits, some teams that have won all their games find themselves at the bottom of the pool. Such is the case with KwaZulu Marlins who were enjoying an unbeaten season but have now found themselves at the bottom of the pool. Conversely, Tshwane Suns who had lost 3 games (one to Marlins) find themselves at the top of their six-team pool. What measures will be taken to remedy this situation? Will foreign players be granted visas to play in the league or will the league not cater to foreign payers moving forward?

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[Photography / Imagery Courtesy of FIBA and BNL]