Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) chairperson Paul Otula has confirmed that Nairobi will have a world-class indoor arena as per the recently signed Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the National Basketball Association (NBA), the national basketball league USA.
Speaking exclusively to People Sport yesterday, in Nairobi, Otula was excited about the possibilities thanking President William Ruto for making the sports investment possible.
“The MOU will set up a modern indoor sports arena that will not only benefit basketball but also other indoor sports like volleyball, netball and handball,” Otula said.
“The modern arena will be equipped with the highest standards for live broadcasting, message displays/advertisements, slow motion playbacks, fans interactive games and social media integration in order to improve games experience and engagement,” the KBF chair continued adding that it’s now official that the NBA will set up an office in Nairobi to coordinate their activities with in the region.
So far, Africa has only two such modern facilities one based in Rwanda’s capital Kigali and the other one in Dakar, Senegal, and now, Kenya is set to be the third country to have such a facility in the continent.
“Young Kenyan basketballers have been going for NBA Africa camps in South Africa, Rwanda, Mali and Senegal, but now they are going to be in Nairobi which will be cheaper. More talented Kenyans will get the chance to showcase their skills to potential scouts,” Otula added.
KBF is also now set to benefit from having basketball national teams being trained at the new facility with invited expert veteran coaches and technical officials who will equally work with schools for skills development in collaboration with the Kenya Secondary Schools Sports Association (KSSSA).
According to Otula, once the arena is all set, the federation will conduct many training camps where successful athletes may be taken to an elite basketball training centre or picked by scouts to world-class sports high schools or colleges with eyes set on joining the NBA or other professional basketball leagues abroad.
As articulated in the MOU, once the office is set, the NBA will start their programmes using existing infrastructure and hosting venues at the Moi International Sports Centre Kasarani.
