2021 is a year of ground-breaking achievements for Rwanda as far as hosting basketball events is concerned. The country will for instance, host the Basketball Africa League (BAL), the first professional league run by the NBA outside the North American continent. In addition, Kigali will in August welcome the AfroBasket tournament, the men’s basketball continental championship contested by the senior national teams of Africa, played once every four years. Jean-Luc Cyusa is a seasoned basketball fan, former player, and a close follower of the game globally who has been an active contributor to the development of the game as a player and executive for 20 years now. Bringing the two big competitions to Kigali is, according to Cyusa, an indication that Rwanda is positioning itself as a key destination for top basketball events on the continent. The veteran, who is currently the president of United Generation Basketball Club (UGB), shared his insights with Times Sport on his view about Rwanda becoming a major destination for continental basketball events and what the game can bring to the country. Below are excerpts: With Rwanda this year hosting big continental competitions like BAL and Afrobaket, do you think the country is already a key destination for international basketball events? Indeed, hosting BAL and the Afrobasket is a clear sign that Rwanda is committed to play a pivotal role in the development of the game of basketball at the highest level. Putting in place the right infrastructures such as the Kigali Arena and other world-class hospitality services will attract participants in these competitions to showcase their talent and compete in the best conditions a basketball player would need to compete at pro level. I can see Rwanda hosting more international basketball competitions in the future. The country has put up facilities like the Kigali Arena and so does it do well in hospitality. How close do you think we can be to hitting global milestones and host games of NBA caliber? With the successful hosting of BAL and the Afrobasket. Rwanda will undoubtedly be well-positioned to host other international tournaments including hosting an NBA game. Today the NBA has been growing globally by organizing games outside the US with regular seasons games hosted in Europe. Rwanda has the right infrastructures including an ideal climate and time zone for hosting the first NBA regular season/exhibition game on the African continent. What can Rwanda benefit from hosting more Basketball events? Hosting more international basketball games will benefit African basketball players and the Rwandan basketballers in particular to have firsthand exposure with excellence which is key to developing local raw talents which sometimes lack the right exposure, infrastructures and quality coaches to excel at the highest level. Our hospitality industry will tremendously benefit from hosting international basketball tournaments as well. This can create a whole industry around sports starting from basketball. What more can be done to continue in the right direction? Keeping the current infrastructures in perfect conditions, providing as much as we can deliver excellent customer service by learning from the best in the field such as the NBA.
