The national basketball team has pulled out of the upcoming qualifiers for the FIBA Afro-CAN tournament 2023, the Rwanda Basketball Federation (Ferwaba) has confirmed.

Scheduled to start in November, the qualifiers will determine the national teams that will participate in the Afro-CAN, a competition for players that ply their trade on the continent.

Speaking to Times Sport, Richard Nyirishema, the Vice President of Ferwaba, said the national team’s withdrawal is due to financial and planning issues related to delays in confirming the competition’s starting dates.

"There are times when it takes a long time for some tournaments to confirm the dates when they will take place yet we have to make a timely choice of the competitions in which we want to take part, and submit them to the Ministry of Sports for funding,” he said.

In Afro-CAN, national team lists must comprise 10 players playing from their country and only two based overseas.

The 2023 edition will take place in July 2023.

The first edition of FIBA Afro-CAN was held in 2019 and the Democratic Republic of Congo won it after beating Kenya 82-61 in Bamako.