Teenagers on the continent are set to benefit from the basketball instructional camp dubbed Basketball Without Borders Africa 2019.
Organised by the USA’s National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA), the event targets male and female players under the age of 17 from throughout Africa, bringing them together to learn from current and former basketball professionals.
The NBA and FIBA announced on July 9 that together with the Senegalese Basketball Federation, the Basketball Without Borders Africa 2019 (BWB) will be held in Senegal in late July.
Taking place from Sunday, July 28 to Wednesday, July 31, the event, the 17th of its edition in Africa, will be held at the Dakar Arena in Dakar as well as at the NBA Academy in Saly, which is south of Senegal’s capital.
“With grassroots basketball development remaining at the core of our strategy to grow the game across Africa, BWB remains our flagship development and community outreach initiative where Africa’s most talented youth have an opportunity to develop as players and learn important life skills they will carry with them for the rest of their lives,” said NBA Africa Managing Director Amadou Gallo Fall.
At the instructional camp, teenagers from throughout Africa will get the opportunity to learn directly from current and former NBA and FIBA players, coaches and legends. The youngsters will also experience competing against the best young players from the continent.
“We are excited to host this year’s Basketball Without Borders Africa camp and welcome FIBA and the NBA back to Senegal,” said Senegal Basketball Federation President, Babacar Ndiaye.
Senegal has previously hosted the Basketball Without Borders Africa before, in 2010.
Only two other African countries have hosted the event. Angola held it in 2016, while all the other BWB Africa events since 2003 have been in South Africa.
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The basketball developmental programme also has Nike as a partner. The American sports brand will outfit the campers and coaches with apparel and footwear.
In February, the NBA and FIBA announced their plan to launch the Basketball Africa League.
This is set to be a new professional basketball league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. It is scheduled to begin play next year.
“I hope that some of the participants in this BWB camp will one day play in the new jointly created Basketball Africa League and benefit from this fantastic opportunity to showcase their talents in this continental league,” said FIBA Africa Executive Director, Alphonse Bilé.
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