The International Basketball Federation (FIBA) has commended Rwanda for its ability to host international basketball tournaments. The recognition comes following the successful organisation of the FIBA Women’s Basketball World Cup Pre-Qualifiers held in Kigali in August. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Hungary women beat Senegal, qualify for FIBA World Cup Qualifiers The event brought together national teams from across the globe, including Hungary, Great Britain, Argentina, Brazil, Lebanon, and the Philippines, alongside Senegal from Africa. Hosted at BK Arena, the pre-qualifiers were attended by large crowds, which included President Paul Kagame. According to information from FIBA, Rwanda was praised for among other things, its television production and how the games were given time on the national broadcaster as well as being streamed via YouTube. According to statistics, the tournament surpassed 3.5 million live views across 30 games in just five days. The semi-final game between Rwanda and Senegal attracted nearly 60,000 live viewers, setting a new record for the highest live viewership for a single game on FIBA's YouTube Channel in 2024. Rwanda is continuing to try to establish itself as a sports hub in Africa, and in the past few years, the country has hosted a number of basketball tournaments including the AfroBasket and the Basketball Africa League (BAL). In addition to this, the country’s flagship tourism initiative, Visit Rwanda, has a multi-year partnership with the BAL, which has seen Rwanda host the competition annually since it began in 2021.
