Basketball in Africa

Zaina Malongo, The Citizen

Dar es Salaam. The development thrust of basketball received a further fillip yesterday when the South Korea embassy handed over sports gear to the ministry of Information, Youth, Sports and Culture.
The symbolic ceremony of donation of the gear estimated at Sh6 million ($4000) was chaired by a South Korean lawmaker, Yoon-Sun Cho, and witnessed by assistant Sports Director Juliana Yassoda.
Speaking at a news conference here, Yoon-Sun said the 200 balls handed over to the ministry were part of their progressive plan to lift the standard of the sport in the country.
“This is just the beginning, we still have a lot to support in the next phase, I hope it will help rise basketball excitement among the youth,” he said.
He added: “Tanzania has many talented players who fail to make the grades because of lacking basic equipments, but through this programme, I’m confident more stars will be unearthed.”
For his part, Yassoda expressed her gratitude to the South Korea government for the support, voicing optimism that the sports gear would help net a new crop of gifted players.
“We’ve several tournaments running in schools, therefore it’s my belief that these balls will be a catalyst for the development of basketball,” Yasoda said.


Besides, the outspoken ministry official called on local companies to come forward and support various sports.