WITH an exception of football, a number of sports disciplines in the country are concentrated along the line of rail, with little attention paid to the rural community.
On one hand, this sad scenario is compounded by the lack of sports infrastructure in rural areas, while on the other, the financial constraints that a number of national sports associations face, are stumbling blocks for expansion.
No one would argue the fact that football is the most popular sport in Zambia, making its presence in all corners of the country via lower division leagues.
But the beautiful game of soccer could soon face some competition from the Zambia Basketball Association (ZBA) that has upped its efforts to grow the sport and to boost support for the teams.
The level of basketball in the country is increasing rapidly. This can also be explained by the fact that the Basketball governing body is dedicating significant efforts and attention to capture the rural communities in the expansion of this sport.
To this effect, the Shawki Fawaz led ZBA executive committee has gone a step ahead by introducing the sport in Muchinga, Luapula and Northern provinces, even when the association is faced with an overstretched financial muscle.
“We understand the fact that the real talent of basketball lies in rural areas and so we decided that we go flat out and ensure that the rural is also catered for and I am happy to mention that the response has been positive,” says ZBA vice president for the northern region Andrew Nyirenda.
Nyirenda says, “This expansion project is progressing well and we have leagues running in the provinces, with various teams from Schools, Colleges, Government departments and the communities taking part.”
Basketball is a game that can be played anywhere, by anyone rich, poor, boys or girls, and one does not a lot of space to play basketball, as football requires.
With this development, basketball is really poised to hit the pinnacle.
Previously, not many basketball players in the rural areas have had an opportunity to showcase their skill and talent at a tournament but the ZBA last month held a Golden Jubilee basketball competition in Kasama at which 20 clubs participated.
The tournament brought to the fore the hidden talent in many youngsters, that could be vital to the national teams going forward.
Zambia is one of the many countries in the world that puts sports as an instrument to build relationships and most importantly, a uniting factor.
“We saw that there was tremendous potential for the sport, and so we decided to find ways to counter issues related to accessibility of basketball and then we laid emphasis on the grassroots level as our focus to grow the sport.”
“We’ve also been working with relevant stakeholders to build the infrastructure because you need some basic infrastructure in order for children to have access to courts while providing technical assistance to local coaches as well as match officials.” Nyirenda says.
Funding is one of the worst factor that hold back the growth of basketball, however in the urban areas, most people go out their own way to still play basketball whether it be at the grassroots or national level.
Beyond exposure, Zambia still needs the facilities and infrastructure to develop athletes because even though basketball is not the most eminent sport in the country, but its popularity is growing significantly.
“With the little resources that we managed to gather from various sources, we had start by ensuring that a number of courts were refurbished to acceptable standards so that the league games could be taking place.
However, there is still a lot that we need to support the teams and so any form of help to this cause would be most welcome, otherwise, we have made significant strides to see to it that everyone has an opportunity to play basketball regardless of where they are,” he says.
Indeed this calls for accelerated development of the infrastructure through community social responsibility initiatives by the corporate.
Having made a significant step, the ZBA must now endeavor to organise basketball camps for players from the already established clubs on Copperbelt as well as those of the newly introduced leagues in order to expose them.
Conducting coaching clinics for coaches and seminars for the club basketball managers would greatly increase the skills of the players, credentials of coaches and sports managers.
In the long run, the ZBA should strive to commercialise the sport by forming marketing partnerships with companies whose brands see their goals and aspirations aligned with those of the association.
Ultimately there is a commercial aspect of basketball that could be pursued such as negotiating a broadcasting deal that would see some of the league games aired on local television stations, or even a basketball lifestyle show.
It is one thing for young people who want to play basketball to have courts and the relevant equipment they need to master the sport, but at the same time it is important to allow fans in general to be able to view the games.
But at this stage, and with financial constraints at play, focus should be more about growing the sport and increasing the fan base.
The rural areas are a reservoir of immense sporting talent in the country, but the sad scenario is that the talent remains untapped owing to various reasons.
In all fairness, the ZBA has done what many sports associations have failed to do over the past years.
The basketball leadership therefore, deserves a pat on their backs for taking this bold step especially that the expansion programme has been a thorny issue for various sports disciplines with the lack of resources being the reason put forward.
If the basketball fraternity has done it, others sports bodies can do it as well and I think there is no harm in seeking counsel on how ZBA has managed.
All in all, the corporate world has a big role to play in ensuring that they offer support in ensuring that many basketball aspirants in rural areas, who cannot play the sport on account of various challenges, can one day realise their dreams.
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