•He said the continental body wanted the tournament held from October 21-26 but he managed to convince them to move it ahead.
•The papers have formally been signed by KPA and submitted to Fiba Africa
Image: ERICK BARASA
Mombasa will play host to the inaugural Basketball Africa League qualifiers in Mombasa next month courtesy of the Kenya Ports Authority.
Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) secretary, Vitalis Gode, yesterday confirmed the development, saying the event will be held from October 28 to November 1.
“The proposals were sent to FIBA Africa and were well received. They had issues with the dates that have now been sorted,” said Gode.
He said the continental body wanted the tournament held from October 21-26 but he managed to convince them to move it ahead.
“The dates they proposed were not possible because they were clashing with the Zone Five women club show in Dar-es-salaam,” he revealed.
“We told them we could not host two events in the same period and asked them to give new dates which they did. We are now set.”
The papers have formally been signed by KPA and submitted to Fiba Africa.
He challenged the porters to assemble a strong team that will enable them to get to the tournament proper.
“With the home support, they will make it. Playing at home is an added advantage. KPA must put in a strong side to enable them to get to the next level of the competition,” he said.
He went on: “They have a strong chance of advancing to the lucrative BAL show and If they make it, everything will be catered for,” he disclosed.
As the host club, he revealed, KPA will take care of the visas for the Fiba officials, their accommodation and also the local transport.
It will be the third time the Coastal town will be hosting a regional championship. They hosted the 2014 Africa Club Championships for men and the 2016 Africa junior event.
KPA, who are also the reigning national league champions, have continued to beef up their squad ahead of the event. Coach Sammy Kiki revealed that he has managed to lure forward Evans Letting back into his stable. He has been playing in Ethiopia.
“Leting has been my player and I know him very well. I am happy to have him back. If I have time to train with him, he will help us,” he said. After the qualifiers, the next phase of the tournament involving some of the continent’s big wigs is slated for March 2020.
Gode said the ports side have been grouped alongside clubs from Djibouti, Mauritius, Madagascar, Seychelles and Comoros.
A total of 48 teams divided into eight groups will line up for the event.
Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos ( Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Rabat (Morocco) and either Monastir or Tunis (Tunisia) have been named as host cities.