The Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) has called upon Rubavu District to create a basketball team, recognising the abundance of talented players and coaches in the area.
Desire Mugwiza, the president of FERWABA, made this recommendation during the unveiling ceremony of the newly upgraded Rubavu Basketball Court on September 9. The court was upgraded by the Giants of Africa with the aim of fostering basketball talent in the area as part of its initiative to build 100 courts across Africa.
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In his remarks at the event, Mugwiza emphasised the potential of Rubavu as a hub for talented individuals and urged the district to form a competitive basketball team.
"We wish that Rubavu District should have a basketball team where children are able to display their talents and the country gets local talents from here, and they are available,” Mugwiza said.
"We want talents from Rubavu; we need your efforts to make these kids show their talent and be giants of Rubavu, then giants of Rwanda, and after giants of Africa. We need your support.”
Asked about the standards of the new court provided to the district, Mugwiza assured that it "is not a concrete basketball court when a player falls down and gets injured. And again, it has everything—water and electricity—where players can have their training sessions during the night.”
Responding to Mugwiza’s request, Rubavu District Mayor Prosper Mulindwa admitted that the district has been working in a way that was not coordinated, given various stakeholders and schools. He committed to establishing a Memorandum of Understanding with FERWABA to promote sustainable basketball development.
"That coordination is going to be more effective and improved so that we become one of the districts with the best basketball teams, starting from schools’ children. We also committed to having an MoU with the basketball federation,” he said.
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Basketball coach Eugene Kayitsinga welcomed FERWABA’s recommendation for the district to establish an active team, highlighting the challenges faced during Kagame Cup tournaments due to the absence of a local team.
Kayitsinga emphasised the importance of collaborations between the district and coaches to revive the basketball legacy of the past and ensure the success of future teams.
"The team is badly needed. The district should work closely with coaches to get back on the same track,” said Kayitsinga, recalling the Marine Fastball Team and Gisenyi Basketball Club (CBC) that faded unexpectedly.
"We don’t know if the district lacks a basketball team over limited funds,” he claimed.
Basketball enthusiasts speak out
Various basketball enthusiasts welcomed FERWABA’s call towards to establish a basketball team which would give new talents a new platform to shine in the game.
"We extremely need a basketball team; it could really help us a lot because other districts like Musanze have developed basketball. It's so sad to see our hometown without a basketball team,” said Auric Kabano, 17, a high school student in Rubavu.
"Without a local professional team, there are fewer pathways for academy players to advance to higher levels of competition. This can hinder their development and exposure,” added Elie Nsengiyumva, who launched his own initiative, UJAMAA Basketball Academy, to support children aged between 5-17 from various schools.
"Young athletes might feel less motivated if they don't see a clear route to play in professional leagues or gain recognition.”