BY JOE APU
FIBA Africa has given teams expected to participate in FIBA Africa Zone Three Championship in Lome, Togo to register for the event on or before September 25.
The tournament holds from October 21 to 30 with participating teams expected from Benin Republic, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria, Togo and Liberia. The championship will also serve as qualifier for the FIBA Africa champions Cup for men and women, which will take place between November and December in Mozambique.
According to a release signed by FIBA Africa Secretary General, Bilé Alphonse, any team that fails to meet the deadline, licenses fees would be doubled and the team would pay a fine of $1000. He also said that two teams were expected to register from each country.
Alphonse also said that only the African national federations affiliated to FIBA and FIBA Africa had the right to participate, provided they have fulfilled all their financial obligations. The federations wishing to participate in these preliminaries must send their confirmation of participation before September 15 to FIBA Africa Secretariat, while the list should be submitted 10 days later. President of the FIBA Zone Three, Col Sam Ahmedu (rtd) commended the Togo Basketball Federation for accepting to host the championship. According to Ahmedu, the Togolese had shown their love for basketball development in the zone by accepting to host the championship, calling on other countries to follow the good example of the Togo Basketball Federation.
We (the board) are excited that the event will come up in Lome. It is a sign of better things to come in the zone. All the countries that make up the zone must ensure that their representatives turn up for the event, which the Togo basketball Federation will be a befitting one.“
The FIBA Zone Three boss assured that the Zone would work closely with the Togolese Federation to ensure a hitch free tournament.