Mombasa keen on hosting Fiba tourney

What you need to know:

  • Four local basketball clubs will represent Kenya at this year’s Fiba Africa Zone Five Club Championships.
  • Vitalis Gode, the Kenya Basketball Federation Secretary said Kenya Ports Authority men and women, Equity Bank women and Strathmore Blades men's teams will fly the country's flag at the annual regional competition.
  • At the same time, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have been earmarked to host this year's Championships after Rwanda pulled out due to unavailability of a conducive venue for the event.

Four local basketball clubs will represent Kenya at this year’s Fiba Africa Zone Five Club Championships in September.

Vitalis Gode, the Kenya Basketball Federation Secretary said Kenya Ports Authority men and women, Equity Bank women and Strathmore Blades men's teams will fly the country's flag at the annual regional competition.

At the same time, Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have been earmarked to host this year's Championships after Rwanda pulled out due to unavailability of a conducive venue for the event.

According to Gode, Rwanda’s Amahoro Stadium, the only indoor court in Kigali which meets international standards to host Fiba events, will be undergoing a facelift and will therefore not be available.

Gode said Dar es Salaam and Mombasa have showed the willingness to host the events but have been given conditions which they must fulfill before they are given a nod .

“We have moved the games from Kigali due to the unavailability of the venue and are waiting for Mombasa and Dar es Salam to fulfill conditions set by Fiba before we can confirm which venue hosts the event," Gode said.

KPA women's team are the defending champions, a title they won in Dar es Salam in 2016 and successfully retained it last year in Kampala, Uganda , while City Oilers from Uganda are the men's champions.

Gode has appealed to the Kenyan teams to step up their training ahead of the championships set for September, saying the regional standards have risen and expects the championships to be very competitive.