The local basketball governing body (Ferwaba) has proposed October 18 as the new date for the resumption of the 2019/20 BK Basketball National League.

The league was initially supposed to resume on Friday, September 4, but the resumption was delayed following the recent upsurge in Covid-19 cases in the country.

The new date was agreed upon during the meeting held on Saturday, September 12, between the federation and representatives of member clubs.

However, according to Ferwaba President Désiré Mugwiza, October 18 is only a proposal and will be implemented if approved by the Ministry of Sports and the Ministry of Health.

The same proposal has also suggested September 25 as the day for resumption of group training, which will also need approval from the Ministry of Sports.

Speaking to Times Sport, Mugwiza revealed that the league will return with a new format of short tournament featuring only the top 8 teams in men’s league and in women’s championship.

"The ranking of the best 8 teams for men and 4 for women will be established per average points gained per game played. The 8 male teams will be split into two groups of 4 teams, and the best 2 of each group will qualify for the semi-finals." 

"In the women category, the 4 teams will play against each other in the first round for ranking purposes. The ranking will determine the fixtures of the semi-finals."

For safety measures against the Covid-19 pandemic, the teams participating in the short tournament will enter camp on October 16 and will not be allowed to leave until when it is over on October 24.

With the current ranking, the eight teams expected to feature in the shortened tournament include REG, Patriots, APR, IPRC Kigali, IPRC Huye, UGB, IPRC Musanze and Espoir.

The women’s four teams are; IPRC Huye, The Hoops, Ubumwe and APR.