Rwanda Basketball Federation (FERWABA) officially unveiled American Joseph ‘Joby’ Wright as the new technical director on Friday at Amahoro National Stadium. Wright, 66, is an American former college and professional basketball player, who comes to Rwanda with vast experience, according to FERWABA secretary general, Richard Mutabazi. Mutabazi noted that, “Previously we thought our basketball does not need a foreign technical director since the standards were still down but now we think it’s the right time to appoint somebody with vast experience to help improve the sport.” “We are confident that the new technical director will help take Rwandan basketball to another level,” added Mutabazi. The American signed a two-year contract until end of 2018. On his part, the new technical director said that, “I am pleased to work in Rwanda, a country with unlimited potential.” “Having had the opportunity to travel in 12 African countries, I was impressed with Rwanda because of many things; 60% of the population are youth, safety, infrastructure and the leadership right from the President of the country, enticed me to come and work here,” Wright explained. He added, “I’m looking forward to working with the national teams and coaches. I have spent a lot of my life impacting young people in basketball. I believe we can have a great national team in Rwanda.” “Rwanda has the potential to develop in basketball. It’s not going to be easy because there are challenges but we can overcome that with commitment from everyone,” he noted. The new technical director will be responsible for a whole host of things that will offer an element of continuity above and beyond training and improving skills among the coaches. He will be charged with designing a basketball youth development program, selecting national coaches for national basketball teams, searching for corporate sponsorship and finding trainings outside Rwanda. editorial@newtimes.co.rw
