Basketball in Africa

Kampala- Sports administrator Peninah Kabenge has called on female basketball players and officials to stand up and take a visible role in the game.

“We need to reclaim our voices in the game,” Makerere University sports tutor Kabenge said while launching the Uganda Women’s Basketball Association (UWBA) at Kati Kati Restaurant in Kampala on Saturday. “This association should help us address the issues affairs.

Men’s basketball in Uganda continues to attract massive crowds compared to the women’s game. Recently, the local basketball body, Fuba, signed a deal to have the men’s topflight playoffs broadcast live on television. The women were not catered for in the arrangement.                 

These, among other issues like lack of female coaches and referees, continue to bother observers who feel the women’s game is as good. “It’s time for us to stand and produce on the court,” Kabenge noted. Headed by Joy Olinga, UWBA plans to organise coaching and refereeing clinics for women starting with schools.
Fuba president Ambrose Tashobya welcomed the development. UWBA crowned KCCA Leopards player Claire Lamunu as the 2012 Queen of Basketball. The award, for outstanding and disciplined players, will be given out annually. Frances Nabulobi, Rice Nsiime, Sandra Mundru, Proscovia Nagganya, Brenda Khanali are the other UWBA executive