As the world is threatened by the COVID-19 pandemic, preparations for the FIBA Afrobasket 2021 continue with virtual meetings.
According to the FIBA website, the Rwanda Basketball Federation president Desire Mugwiza said that Rwanda is concerned about organizing a tournament that will always be remembered.
FIBA Afrobasket is the biggest tournament on the continent in basketball, with Kigali hosting the tournament in 2021. This is the second time the East African region will host the event since Kenya hosted the 1993 tournament.
Rwanda as a country accustomed to hosting basketball competitions plans to take advantage of this great opportunity to create a lasting and exciting event that attracts sports tourism through basketball.
In a lengthy interview with FIBA, Desire Mugwiza revealed the government’s role in the preparations for the tournament, saying, “The country has put all its efforts into mobilizing the required resources to host the AfroBasket. The Rwandan leadership recognizes the importance and the opportunity of hosting such a competition. They have provided full support and the Ministry of Sports leadership is fully supportive of providing all the required resources to make this event a success. ”
With desirable experience having hosted several continental tournaments in the past including the 2009 FIBA Africa Champions Cup, the Rwanda Basketball Federation is building on that to devise ways of making this an unforgettable event for the participating teams and the fans from across the continent.
“Every time we are given an opportunity to host a basketball tournament as the federation, we consider it as an opportunity to use basketball as a tool to transform the Rwandan community while connecting the positive economic and social momentum to leave a legacy.” Mugwiza explained.
Other African-level basketball competitions that Rwanda hosted include the FIBA Africa Champions Cup in 2009, the FIBA African Championship U18 in 2016 and the FIBA U16 Women’s African Championship in Amahoro indoor stadium and the second round of BAL Qualifiers in Kigali arena in December last year.
