President of Rwanda Basketball Club Patriots Brian Kirungi has indicated the Basketball Africa League (BAL) will stimulate Africa’s economy in multiple areas.
He made this indication known as reported by Borgen Magazine ahead of the commencement of the continental championship that was scheduled to start in March, 2020 but had to be postponed to a yet to be determined date due to the emergence of COVID 19.
BAL is a partnership between NBA and FIBA Africa with 12 teams from different countries including Patriots due to compete in the maiden edition of the tournament.
“When it comes to the BAL, it’s a professional league over the whole continent . . . So, the competition is different [as is] the level of players, the level of coaching, the level of management [and] commercialization of the game. So, it’s really at the highest level.” TV deals, merchandise and player salaries all look to stimulate Africa’s economy, which especially helps impoverished communities.”
Former Patriots Assistant Coach Liz Mills recently guided Kenya to the AfroBasket (African Nations Basketball Championship) for the first time in 28 years.
By Yaw Adjei-Mintah
@YawMintYM on Twitter
