WITH effect from the 2016/17 season, all clubs in the national basketball league will have to pay at least Rwf1m for every player they will recruit. The decision was adopted Sunday during a Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) general annual assembly at Amahoro National Stadium in Remera. According to FERWABA president Desire Mugwiza, the resolution aims at protecting young talent and ensuring clubs recruit only players they intend to use. Previously, during the transfer windows every league club was required to pay a minimum of Rwf500, 000 for any new player. “We realised that the older arrangement has not been fair both to the players and to the selling team; for example, a club would sign a player and pays their tuition fees as part of the deal, and then after two years or so another club comes and signs the same player for just Rwf500, 000, yet the former club probably spent Rwf700,000 or more on the player,” said Mugwiza. “On the side of the players, you could find one club with more than 30 players who won’t get time to play, so we decided to raise the amount and also slash the maximum number of players required to 20 per team to encourage clubs to sign players they will give a chance to play during that season.” Another resolution taken is that all league clubs will only be allowed to use not more than five foreign players in a season and not more than two during match days. Each club will also be required to create junior teams and these will have their own parallel youth league. The general assembly also decided that a pre-season tourney will kick off on November 12. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
