In 2010, NBA legend Kobe Bryant traveled to Africa for the first time and made a visit to a soccer training facility in Soweto, South Africa, where he exclaimed, “It’s unbelievable to be here. This center is a dream hub.” Now, at a brand-new African “dream hub” in Kigali, Rwanda, the NBA is launching its Basketball Africa League (BAL). BAL is a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, a new professional league including 12 teams from across Africa, which have qualified in their own domestic competitions and are playing each other in May to become the inaugural BAL champions. The countries competing are Senegal, Mali, Morocco, Cameroon, Mozambique, Madagascar, Algeria, Rwanda, Angola, Nigeria, Tunisia and Egypt. The BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions that FIBA has organized on the continent and is the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. In 2015 I formed a partnership with the NBA in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, building JMK Park - a multiuse sports facility where Tanzanian children have full access to a wide range of free sports and life-skills educational programs. Forming Junior NBA leagues for boys and girls that mirror the U.S. professional league in a city of 7 million people, where many cannot afford to send their kids to school – let alone to sports facilities – has been transformational. The selection of Rwanda as the location for the BAL finals is fitting. The no-nonsense leadership of President Paul Kagame’s administration has created an enabling environment for investment that makes it among the top destinations in sub-Saharan Africa for the international investor community. There is a serious push against corruption, a burgeoning private sector and foreign investors are welcomed with support from the Rwanda Development Board. In Rwanda there is predictability and stability - key fundamentals that attract Foreign Direct Investment. Rwanda boasts an impressive 73% literacy rate and is 38th in the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business rankings; 64% of its parliamentarians are female and 55% of cabinet posts are held by women. All of this is in a country that 27 years ago experienced one of the most shocking events in recent history – the 1994 Genocide against the Tutsi, when approximately 20% the population were slaughtered in a matter of weeks. Some critics have opposed the selection of Rwanda as the launchpad for BAL. This is because Paul Rusesabagina, who was made famous by the Hollywood movie “Hotel Rwanda” – a semi-fictional story of the genocide – is currently on trial there, accused of terrorist acts. Rusesabagina denies the charges. But the Basketball Africa League is sport as well as entertainment, and forcing a political agenda has no place here. By not keeping politics out of sport, we risk the potential for thousands of talented young people to miss out. Over the past six years I have seen the impact of basketball on the lives of young people in Africa, and the NBA, its sponsors and the government of Rwanda should all be celebrated for the investments they are making in the continent’s future. Rwanda is ready, with facilities to host this event that most in Africa can only dream about. And unlike much of the continent – or indeed the world – the country has handled the coronavirus pandemic well from the start. It means teams and fans can come and be safe and comfortable. This alone is reason enough for it to have been selected. And, just as the World Cup in South Africa encouraged the dreams of a generation of soccer-loving African teenagers, we should see the NBA’s support for the new Basketball Africa League for what it is: the opportunity to make lives better, play a great game and to stimulate new investment on the continent. In Soweto, the late Kobe Bryant said, “If you’d have told me I would be able to visit a place like Soweto when I was younger, I wouldn’t believe you. It is all because of basketball, I’m so grateful.” He knew how to leave politics to the politicians. It’s time some of the spoilsport rights campaigners learn that sports fans – and a generation of young, hopeful players full of dreams – have rights, too. This article was first published on usnews.com. Paul Hinks is chairman of Invest Africa US and founder of JMK Park in Tanzania. He is a long-time investor in Rwanda.
