President Paul Kagame has said he feels happy and proud that Rwanda is hosting the Basketball Africa League (BAL) for the second time. Last year, the country hosted the entire inaugural season of the competition and earned a lot of appreciation from it, as it was played during challenging times when the Covid-19 pandemic was a serious issue globally. This year, Rwanda is hosting the playoffs of the tournament, from the quarterfinals all the way to the finals. While participating in the “Moving Sports Forward Forum,” an event co-hosted by the Giants of Africa and Basketball Africa League on Saturday, May 21 in Kigali to discuss the development of sports on the African continent, Kagame was asked how he feels about the fact that Rwanda is hosting the mega event again, and he responded: “My feeling is that of pride and happiness that we have done something and it has materialized and it’s going to have an impact as regards to our young people and the development of talent on our continent.” “I’m also thankful to all of you who have been each contributing their part and making this happen. There is something about sports, it goes beyond what we can describe, it’s more in the feelings as well as it connects those feelings from one person to another,” he added. The forum had big names in African basketball like President of Basketball Africa League, Amadou Gallo Fall, Victor Williams CEO of NBA Africa and Luol Deng, a two-time NBA All-Star former player. Kagame also made a case for the potential of sports in regard to how it can impact various parts of society. “With the modern times, it’s not just the feeling, it’s not the pride or competition, it ends up being an investment and a business and it is something that touches every part of the world, every sector of society is touched by it.” Zeroing in on the youths, he noted that what is needed is to give them a little bit to start with, as a push for them to do the rest. “Already with youth, the energy, the talent, the desire to do things, whether it is sports or other things, is there,” he said. “Therefore, all kinds of talent are just locked in there and all you have to do is release everything for the young people to do their part that they want to do. Every small contribution, the aggregate of that will make a big difference for the young people,” he added.
