Basketball in Africa

Local basketball players have officially began the process of registering their association, only a week after the resolution was passed at the Kenya Basketball Federation annual general meeting.
During the meeting, the players had to stage a walkout in protest and got a reprieve when their demands were met.
The players association, once fully registered and operational, will join the KBF Referees Association and the Kenya Basketball Coaches Association which are already in existence.
“The association will cater for the welfare of players in the league.The players association will be represented in the AGM sitting with one vote and shall pay affiliation fee to the Federation as stipulated in the constitution,” read part of the resolutions contained in the AGM minutes held last week.
The interim officials led by Rojaz Too and Denis Opiyo have already sent a notice to all teams to supply information key to the realization of the association.
Initially, the association targets players from the women and premier league teams with a longterm plan to bring together all basketball players right from the grassroots.
The players, who felt to have been neglected for long in the running of the league, will also play a critical role in designing of league fixtures.
The association will appoint a representative who will sit in the fixtures committee alongside other stakeholders.
New season to begin in April
Resolutions of the AGM also affected the new season calendar which was slated to begin this weekend and opening fixtures already released.
However, the season will now commence on April 5 to allow time for the league committee come up with new fixtures. Initially, the league rules had been changed to include conferences but that proposal attracted opposition from many teams.
Critics said the new format would render the league weak by limiting players to few matches. During the AGM, it was recommended that the league format returns to the old format without the conferences and should be more competitive and with more games.
The conferences will, however, remain in the constitution for administrative purposes.
Additionally, the federation is expected to take more games outside Nairobi in strengthening the conferences. The new season will see the inclusion of ten new teams across the three leagues from the traditional twelve to promote competition.
The men premier will welcome four teams, two in the women premier and four in division one.