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From Morocco to Algeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Ghana, Rwanda and South Africa, countries across the continent are leveraging international sports events to develop their sporting infrastructure and become internationally competitive in a growing number of sports. 


bird story agency
 
The just-concluded &nbsp;2023 Club World Cup in Morocco is just one of a series of major regional and international sporting events that have resulted in major upgrades to the continent's sporting facilities - seen as key to ensuring Africa's further success in the international sporting arena.
 
With the semi-finals in Tangier and the finals in Rabat - 217 kilometres apart - Morocco inaugurated a high-speed train connecting the two towns.
 
Down south, South Africa is looking to again make history by becoming the first African country to host a Women's World Cup if its bid for the 2027 event gets the green light from FIFA.&nbsp;
 
The country was the first - and so far only - country on the continent to host the men's World Cup, in 2010.
 
Danny Jordaan, the South African Football Association president, recently said the country has enough facilities and is adequately prepared to host the event.
 
"We believe we have got what is required to host the FIFA Women's World Cup in South Africa. The success of the World Cup in 2010 in South Africa dispelled pessimism around an African bid," he said in a press statement.
 
"The venues are in place, the training grounds are in place, the accommodation and the roads are in place," he added.
 
The country faces a challenge from Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, who are competing to host the event with a joint bid.
 
Win or lose, South Africa's bid to host the world's largest women's sporting event raises awareness of Africa as an international sporting events destination.
 
The country's hosting of the 2010 World Cup resulted in the construction of five new stadiums, four of which have seating capacities of more than 40,000.
 
The FNB Stadium, popularly known as Soccer City, was upgraded between 2006 and 2009 after South Africa won the bid to host the 2010 event. FIFA pumped approximately US$260 million into improving the stadium to its current 94,000-spectator capacity, the largest in Africa and among the top five biggest stadiums in the world.
 
The stadium has hosted numerous sporting events and also international music concerts, providing a venue for artists like Ed Sheeran and One Direction.
 
The Cape Town Stadium - with a maximum 64,100 seat capacity (later reduced to 58,300) and now branded the DHL Stadium - was also developed as a result of the successful 2010 bid and is now an iconic landmark for the city with Table Mountain as its backdrop. In addition to football, it hosts both sevens and rugby league matches and is home to both the Cape Town City football team and the Stormers and Western Province rugby teams.
 
Up north, Algeria's bid to host the ongoing African Nations Championship led to the development of the new Nelson Mandela Stadium in Baraki, off Algiers.
 
The more than 40,000-capacity new facility hosted the tournament's opening match and is estimated to have cost $270 million. In addition, the stadium will host one of the quarter-finals, one of the semi-finals and the grand final of the event.&nbsp;
 
And as Ghana gets ready to host the 13th Africa Games in August, a key qualifying opportunity for African athletes ahead of the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, critical advancements have been made in that country's sports infrastructure.
 
More than 5000 elite athletes and coaches from fifty-five African countries in twenty-six sporting disciplines will descend on Ghana for the event and the government is overhauling major facilities, including the Borteyman Sports Complex and other venues, including the Baba Yara stadium in Kumasi, are being renovated for the event.
 
Mustapha Ussif, Algeria's Minister for Youth and Sports, indicated in a recent interview that Borteyman Sports Complex will, after the tournament, be converted to a "University of Sports" to develop Ghanaian sporting talent.
 
In the build-up to the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament held in February 2022, Cameroon built or renovated more than 30 stadiums and training pitches in five of its ten regions.
 
Cameroon invested nearly US$1 billion in developing the 60,000-capacity Paul Biya Omnisports Stadium (locally known as Olembe Stadium), alongside other sports infrastructures’ renovation in preparation for the tournament.
 
Senegal is also planning to revamp its sporting infrastructure as it prepares to host the 2026 Summer Youth Olympics.
 
The West African country recently inaugurated a 50,000-capacity stadium in Diamniadio, some 30 kilometres south of Dakar, at a cost of US$270 million.
 
Beyond football and athletics, basketball has also seen significantly elevated sporting infrastructure. The NBA's focus on Africa led to NBA Africa opening offices in Johannesburg, Dakar, Accra and Lagos and in 2018, the organisation opened an elite training academy in Sally, Senegal, for young players across Africa. The indoor, elite training is a partnership between the NBA Academy Africa and. the SEED project based in Thies, Senegal.
 
The inaugural seasons of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) and the AfroBasket tournament in 2021 were both held at the newly-built and hugely impressive Kigali Arena, the biggest indoor arena in East Africa. The 10,000-seater arena is also used for volleyball as well as for concerts.
 
The upcoming 2025 Road Cycling World Championships are set to be hosted in Africa (in Morocco and Rwanda), providing an opportunity for the continent to accelerate the development of infrastructure in yet another sporting discipline.&nbsp;
 
Yet despite the infrastructural and technical growth achieved when hosting major sports events, experts highlight the need for a sustainable plan to achieve holistic transformation in sports.
 
According to Lola Ogunbote, a women's football sports manager, there should be long-term plans to grow the entire ecosystem.
 
"Are we providing more access by investing in our grassroots clubs that will feed professional clubs in the end?" she questioned.
 
For her, a sustained approach that ensures team managers and players access to more opportunities in the global sporting space would ensure better outcomes. However, she insisted, the opportunity for hosting big events should not be wasted.
 
"If we are going to have this World Cup in South Africa which will bring the world to us, we should focus on building a long-term impact that will be left for our people afterwards," she noted.
 
bird story agency

Africa is building its sporting legacy by hosting international sports events

As the buzz around African basketball intensifies, the third season of BAL promises an unforgettable display of talent and skill. Here are the league details.

Bonface Orucho, bird story agency
 
African basketball fans are set to witness a fierce battle for the Basketball Africa League, or BAL, title after the unveiling of fixtures and game schedules for its 3rd season.
 
The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA and featuring club teams from across Africa, has become a standout on the continent's basketball scene in just two seasons - and a hit with the sport's fans.
 
“We are confident that fans and viewers will be treated to top-tier basketball that reflects the calibre of the talent we have on the continent,” noted Anibal Manave FIBA Africa and BAL Board President.
 
Slated for March 11, the 12-team competition will witness 38 games played in different venues in Dakar, Cairo and Kigali.
 
Apart from Tunisia’s US Monastir, the 2nd season champions, five teams will be making a comeback from the 2022 season.
 
Rwanda’s Energy Group, South Africa’s Cape Town Tigers, Clube Ferroviario da Beira from Mozambique, Club Atlético Petróleos de Luanda from Angola and Seydou Legacy Athletique Club from Guinea are all returning teams.
 
Additionally, five teams will be making first-time entries into the competition.
 
These include Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Abidjan Basket Club (Cote d’Ivoire), Stade Malien (Mali), Al Ahly (Egypt), and City Oilers (Uganda).
 
Senegal’s AS Dounes are making a comeback in the competition after participating in the inaugural BAL season and then missing out on the 2022 season.
 
“There is incredible momentum leading up to the third BAL season, and each of the 12 teams has fought hard to earn their spot through intense competition,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.
 
The criteria for team selection is such that champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia earned their spot in the competition after winning national league titles in their respective countries.
 
The rest, including those from Ivory Coast, Guinea, Mali, Mozambique, South Africa and Uganda, joined after participating in ‘Road to the BAL’ tournaments hosted by FIBA last year.
 
The 12 teams will be divided into two conferences – the Sahara Conference and the Nile Conference. Each conference will play a 15-game group phase during which each team will face the other five teams in its conference once.
 
The Sahara Conference’s group phase will take place at the Dakar Arena from March 11-21 while the Nile Conference’s group phase will take place at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 26 - May 6.
 
The top four teams from each conference will qualify for the BAL Playoffs and Finals, which will feature a single-elimination tournament at BK Arena in Kigali from May 21-27.
 
Rwanda Development Board, NIKE, Jordan Brand and Wilson will extend their partnership deals as BAL Foundational Partners this season.
 
French cognac producer Hennessy and Envol Partenariats Senegal, builders of the UN House project, Envol City, will form part of the world-class marketing partners.
 
Since the 2021 season, 16 African countries have been represented in the tournament. However, with the Ivorians and Ugandans featured in this year’s competition, that number rises to 18.
 
The BAL rocketed into the sporting limelight with its inception in 2019, and its trajectory has continued despite the impact of COVID-19. The 2022 final between US Monastir and Petro de Luanda attracted a sold-out crowd of 10,000 to the BK Arena in Kigali, and its broadcast and online presence went global.
 
“It featured countries in Africa, Europe, and the U.S, reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 14 languages - including all 54 African countries - and generated more than 600 million online engagements,” BAL noted in a statement.
 
AS Douanes will take on Abidjan Basket Club on March 11 in the opening match, and defending champions US Monastir will clash with Stade Malien on March 12.
 
bird story agency

Get ready to ball: Basketball Africa League’s 3rd season is here

A Nigerian Afrobeat singer buys shares in the Cape Town Tigers and the son of Dwayne Wade moves to South Africa, aSika Kone joins WNBA's New York Liberty, and Afrobasket qualifiers in East Africa sizzle, as focus returns to African basketball.


by Silalei Shani, bird story agency
 
The early February announcement by Zaire Wade, the son of NBA Legend Dwayne Wade, that he had signed to play for the Basketball Africa League's (BAL) team, the Cape Town Tigers, in the 2023 season, has made waves in both basketball and sporting circles, across Africa.
 
The 6'1 guard, who has been plying his trade with the NBA's G-League team, the Salt Lake City Stars, participated in the BAL Combine in Paris. The 2-day scouting event, which took place in January, drew 30 players from Africa, Europe, and the U.S., aspiring to play in Africa's top-flighted tournament.&nbsp;
 
Wade averaged 4.6 points and 1.9 assists in 13 games for Salt Lake City Stars this season and is already training with the South Africa-based team.
 
"When I was younger, maybe I wouldn't have thought that I would have went to Salt Lake and then over to Cape Town, but I think that's what the journey is all about - life puts you in great situations and great places you never would have expected," told ESPN regarding his move to the Cape Town Tigers from the Salt Lake City Stars.
 
The Cape Town Tigers have continued to make headlines thanks to Afrobeat superstar Oluwatosin Ajibade, better known as Mr Eazi. The 31- year-old singer took to Twitter to announce that he had become a shareholder in the Tigers, further raising the team's profile and demonstrating the economic potential of African sports.
 
In West Africa, women's basketball has stolen the spotlight, thanks to Malian national side player Sika Kone, considered by many to be the best continental basketball player of her generation. The 20-year-old joins the WNBA's New York Liberty in their upcoming season. Kone was the 29th draft pick by the New York team in 2022 but could not participate, due to injuries that prevented her from suiting up.
 
At the age of 12, the young basketball player made it into the feeder club for Mali's national team, and just 12 months later, she was selected to attend a national training camp.&nbsp;
 
At 15 years old, she was offered a scholarship to study at a British Academy School in Spain and played in Europe until her draft to the WNBA. At the 2021 U-19 Women's Basketball World Cup in Hungary, Kone made history with Mali, lifting the African nation to its first-ever semi-final appearance in the FIBA tournament.
 
Playing for Mali, she finished in second place at the 2021 Afrobasket tournament behind Nigeria's D'Tigress. Her outstanding abilities on the offensive and defensive end drew international attention and sealed her trajectory to the world's top basketball league.&nbsp;
 
"I think I am prepared to compete in the WNBA. Also, the New York Liberty have an amazing line-up with the addition of players like Breanna Stewart, Courtney Vandersloot, Jonquel Jones and Betnijah Laney. It would motivate me to share a dressing room with athletes like them or Sabrina Ionescu; In addition to facing the rest of the important players. I'm sure this would help me progress further," said Kone.
 
After a week of intense women's basketball in Kampala, Egypt booked their ticket to the 2023 FIBA Women's Afrobasket tournament, hosted later this year in Kigali.
 
Egypt beat hosts Uganda 74-65 at a packed-out MTN Arena in Lugogo. They join Nigeria, Senegal, Mali, and Cameroon and hosts Rwanda, who've already qualified.
 
With a 1-point loss to Uganda in their first encounter in the tournament, Egypt led the rankings in aggregate points by winning the rest of the games and delivering a sound 25-point beating to defending champions Kenya in the round-robin set-up.&nbsp;
 
The stage was set for the Egypt-Uganda showdown, which lived up to its hyped expectations with the scores tied 38-38 at the half. Egypt managed to stretch the lead to 12 points in the game's final quarter, led by MVP Raneem Elgedawy's 19 points and 12 rebounds.&nbsp;
 
The former Western Kentucky star averaged 19.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game and lifted the trophy for the competition's best scorer. Uganda couldn't recover despite Brenda Ekone's 25 points and Jannon Jaye Otto's 14 points; however, they stand a chance to win FIBA Africa's wild card to attend the Afrobasket in July.
 
With Afrobasket underway and the Basketball Africa League ramping up for the year, a number of commentators (including the writer) have argued that both local and international attention on African basketball has never been greater.
 
bird story agency

Afrobeats and the lure of Cape Town: Basketball's spotlight on the continent returns

The 15-month-long search for five qualifying teams to represent Africa in the FIBA World Cup 2023 has ended with Cabo Verde, South Sudan, Angola, Egypt and Ivory Coast making the list.


bird story agency
 
Africa now has its five teams confirmed for the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2023, taking place between August 25 and September 10.
 
Following a weekend of intense qualifying game action, with electrifying basketball action in Luanda and Alexandria, Cabo Verde and South Sudan will make their World Cup debuts&nbsp;
 
With a population of about 572,000, Cabo Verde made history by becoming the smallest country ever to qualify for the FIBA Basketball World Cup.
 
The Blue Sharks of Cabo Verde held down Ivory Coast 79-64, securing their place in the tournament, which Indonesia, Japan and the Philippines will co-host.
 
The qualification of Cabo Verde reaffirms the fast-growing popularity of basketball in Africa, even among small nations.
 
According to Betinho Gomes, the Cape Verde team forward, their qualification shows they “want to be a sign of inspiration for future generations of Cape Verdeans."
 
“It's amazing we just made history. We fought so hard to be here,” he said to FIBA.
 
Like the Blue Sharks, South Sudan also made history on Friday, February 24, after beating Senegal 83-75 and becoming the first African nation to qualify at their first attempt.
 
Coached by former NBA forward and now head coach and president of the South Sudanese Federation, Luol Deng, the South Sudanese team has recorded impressive wins in the African Qualifiers.&nbsp;
 
Through 12 games played in the qualifiers window, the squad has won 11, only losing to Senegal in August 2022.
 
South Sudan trounced Egypt 97-77 on Sunday in their last game, reaffirming their well-deserved spot in the qualifiers’ list.
 
Besides South Sudan and Cabo Verde, other African teams participating in the world cup include Ivory Coast, Angola and Egypt.
 
The five teams have been narrowed down from 16 teams that compete in the African league in a journey that took 15 months, from November 2021 to February 2023.
 
Thirty-two men's national teams drawn from different regions globally will participate in the World Cup, which will also be used to allocate quota berths for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
 
bird story agency

History made: Cabo Verde and South Sudan among African Five at Basketball World Cup

Africa's U-20 World Cup team slots are complete as Gambia secures a historic spot in the Afcon Under-20 finals. Will the Young Scorpions sting Senegal, to carry the 2023 Afcon U-20 title?

Bonface Orucho, bird story agency
 
Gambia, Senegal, Nigeria, and Tunisia will represent Africa in the FIFA U-20 World Cup taking place from 20 May to June 11, 2023.&nbsp;
 
The four teams secured their places following a thrilling last-eight stage of the ongoing TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations, in Egypt.
 
At the semi-final match played at the Cairo International Stadium on Monday evening (March 6), Gambia edged out seven-time U-20 world cup champions Nigeria with a 1-0 penalty win.
 
The winning goal scored in the seventh minute fulfilled Gambia’s years-long desire to reach the finals.&nbsp;
 
Their historic qualification places them among some of Africa's footballing giants - in Nigeria and Senegal - during the finals. &nbsp;
 
According to the Scorpion's coach, Abdoulie Bojang, netting ten goals in the competition and not conceding any is good reason to believe the team will win the finals of the Cup of Nations, on March 11.
 
"We're a small country which now plays in the tournaments…It is a deserved victory. We will fight for the title against Senegal," he said.
 
The two sides have a similar record in the tournament, as they won all five matches without conceding a goal and scoring in each match.
 
Senegal defeated Benin 1-0 in the quarter-finals, advancing to the semi-finals, where they thrashed Tunisia 3-0 to reach the competition's final match.
 
Caf's Technical Study Group (TSG), a team of experts that assess matches and players in the competition, last week unveiled the list of names that make up the best XI of the Group Stage.
 
Using this as an assessment tool suggests an uphill task ahead for Gambia at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.
 
While four of the 11 players belong to the Senegalese team, Gambia's forward Alaigie Saine and team coach Abdoulie Bojang are the only ones featured from the Young Scorpions.
 
Senegal has also scored the most goals in the competition with 12 goals, while Gambia has had ten goals so far.
 
Competition between the two countries could come down to a battle of the top scorers - between Pape Diop of Senegal, who has five goals and Gambia's Adama Bojang, with 4.
 
bird story agency

Afcon Under-20: World Cup U-20 teams chosen as Gambia makes history

The NBA's developmental G League features heavily in this week's African basketball roundup, with Central African Republic's Thierry Darlan choosing the G League and G League players starring in this season's Basketball Africa League (BAL). Also in the news: the world's newest country qualifies for the FIBA World Cup.


by Silalei Shani, bird story agency
 
When NBA Academy Africa point guard Thierry Darlan recently revealed he would be joining the NBA developmental team G League Ignite, over a host of college offers, he finally put to rest concerns over his 2023 career plans.
 
Despite scholarship offers from top basketball colleges like Arizona, Kansas, and Santa Clara and being NBA draft eligible this year, Darlan chose to go the route of the NBA development league. The league was previously named the NBA Development League, or D League until a Gatorade sponsorship, starting in the 2017-2018 season.
 
"Many NCAA programs called me. I'm thankful for their interest, but I think my game is more fit to a pro game than a college game," Darlan said.
 
While African players have mostly dominated frontcourt positions, the 6'7 player from Central Africa Republic's position as a point guard makes him a rare commodity to come out of the continent.&nbsp;
 
"Ultimately, the plan is to get to the NBA, but I will follow the lead of the G League Ignite coaching staff. At NBA Academy Africa, I first started as a shooting guard and then I was shifted to the point guard position. I think I'm able to play both and I'm not afraid to continue to learn and try new things," said Darlan, who has a 7'1 wingspan.
 
I'm not thinking about staying a year or more. I'm only thinking about my next practice or my next game, and it has to be better than the last one, said Darlan.
 
G League Ignite currently has two other NBA Academy Africa alum on their roster this season; Efe Abogidi from Nigeria and Babacar Sane from Senegal.&nbsp;
 
The G League is also a feature of Africa's premier basketball league. The BAL's third season officially got underway on Saturday, March 11th, with the Sahara Conference hosting six teams in a 15-game schedule at Dakar Arena in Senegal.&nbsp;
 
This year's season is particularly exciting with the inclusion of players with G League experience, led by Jerome Randle (US Monastir), who features for the Texas Legends and the Maine Celtics, and Zaire Wade, the son of NBA Legend Dwayne Wade. The 6'1 guard, who previously played for the Salt Lake City Stars, is playing for the Cape Town Tigers.
 
This is a testament to the profile of the Basketball Africa League, which continues to set a high professional standard for basketball tournaments on the continent. 12 basketball clubs from across the continent will fight it out to lift the BAL trophy on May 27th in Kigali.&nbsp;
 
Meanwhile, the world's youngest country, South Sudan, officially qualified for this year's FIBA World Cup, slated to take place this summer. They entered the final qualifiers run off of an 8-1-win record and only needed to win one more game to qualify.&nbsp;
 
Qualification came with a 83-75 win over Senegal, helped by power forward Nuni Omot, with a team-high 26 points.&nbsp;
 
South Sudan joins Cote D'Ivoire, who qualified during the previous window of the campaign.
 
The team is led by two-time NBA All-Star Luol Deng who has been praised for his unwavering determination to bring history to South Sudan's basketball team.&nbsp;
 
The event, held at the Al Ittihad Stadium in Alexandria, was tainted by the fact that no fans were allowed to watch the game. Fans, many of whom had travelled from other countries, were turned away at the gates, and numerous fans were forced to wait during the entire game and watch on their phones.
 
In the post-game press conference, Deng shared his displeasure.
 
&nbsp;"This morning we woke up and the fans were outside. They stood there the entire game, they were not allowed. This is a great story and we've been robbed today from celebrating with our fans who came all the way out here," he said.
 
"That's the biggest disappointment that I have. We make history, and our fans are not allowed on the day of making it", he said.
 
bird story agency.

Top stories

The NBA's development league and South Sudan's incredible feat; the latest in African basketball.

Afcon Under-20: World Cup U-20 teams chosen as Gambia makes history

History made: Cabo Verde and South Sudan among African Five at Basketball World Cup

Afrobeats and the lure of Cape Town: Basketball's spotlight on the continent returns

Get ready to ball: Basketball Africa League’s 3rd season is here

Africa is building its sporting legacy by hosting international sports events

The NBA's development league and South Sudan's incredible feat; the latest in African basketball.

Afcon Under-20: World Cup U-20 teams chosen as Gambia makes history

History made: Cabo Verde and South Sudan among African Five at Basketball World Cup

Afrobeats and the lure of Cape Town: Basketball's spotlight on the continent returns

Get ready to ball: Basketball Africa League’s 3rd season is here

Africa is building its sporting legacy by hosting international sports events