Burundi, Egypt teams withdraw from Fiba championships
Equity Bank Hawks' Mercy Wanyama (right) shields the ball from KPA's Yvonne Akinyi during their Kenya Basketball Federation women's Premier League play-off game five finals on February 13, 2017 at Nyayo Stadium. PHOTO | CHRIS OMOLLO |
What you need to know:
- Kenya Ports Authority men and women’s basketball teams finally arrived in Kampala on Saturday.
IN KAMPALA, UGANDA
Egyptian and Burundian teams have withdrawn from this year's Fiba Zone Five Basketball Club Championships which tip off on Sunday at Lugogo Indoor Courts in Kampala, Uganda.
Speaking to Nation Sport in Kampala yesterday, Fiba Zone Five secretary general Vitalis Gode said Al Ahly’s men and women teams from Egypt had withdrawn from the championships leaving only seven women and nine men teams at the event.
The draws for the championships were due Saturday.
At the same time, Kenya Ports Authority men and women’s basketball teams finally arrived in Kampala on Saturday after days on uncertainty following the directive by President Uhuru Kenyatta barring civil servants and parastatal employees from traveling out of the country without approval from his office.
The dockers, who were camping in Nairobi in readiness for the event, got the approval to travel to Kampala on Friday.
The team was set to travel on Thursday but could not leave the country until they were cleared, forcing Transport Permanent Secretary Paul Mwangi Maringa and his Ministry of Sports counterpart Haron Komen to step in and help them through.
"As a government, it is in our interest to help the youth showcase their talent and also get the opportunity to test their might against other countries," Maringa said.
