Malawi compete at the 2013 Afro Basketball Zone VI Under-16 Championship next month in Zimbabwe, Basketball Association of Malawi (Basmal) has said.
Basmal technical director Obed Nyirongo revealed this on Thursday when asked about reports in Zimbabwean newspapers that Malawi would be among participating teams at the international event.
The competition, to run from April 25 to May 3, is for boys and girls basketball teams. For Malawi to participate, it needed to have both boys and girls teams.
“We are not sending a team to Zimbabwe. We have never had a national women’s team. The women only participate in all-stars regional competitions. We are trying to form a women’s national team starting with an Under-19 all-stars team,” Nyirongo said.
He said Basmal hopes that the all-stars squad would mature for qualification for the 2016 Olympic Games to take place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Zimbabwe’s Herald newspaper last week reported that following the recent qualification of Zimbabwe women’s basketball team for the 2013 Afro Basketball Women’s Championship, the country was awarded the right to host the event.
The 2013 Afro Basketball Zone VI Under-16 will bring together teams from nine southern Africa countries namely, South Africa, Angola, Botswana, Swaziland, Lesotho, Mozambique, Namibia, Zambia and hosts Zimbabwe.
In a statement, Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) president Addison Chiware described hosting the event as a step in the right direction.
“As we enter one of the most inspirational sporting years of our generation, we have already started to capitalise on the unique opportunity, creating a long-lasting sporting legacy for future generations in Zimbabwe and across Africa,” Chiware was quoted as saying.
