Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) is set to hold its Annual General Meeting (AGM) in April and top on its agenda will be to inject fresh blood into its leadership.
It is a sport that need some change on how its being run, as the days of Kenya being the basketball superpower in East Africa and featuring in competitions like the World Championships have been replaced by a myriad of problems on and off the court.
The once second most popular sport after football is now played in near empty gymnasiums, still semi-professional and until last year, struggled to get a footing in continental competitions leave alone regional ones.
Much of it had been blamed on the leadership of BBF where some officials have stayed in office for so long that they have forgotten their mandate.
The said officials have taken advantage of the KBF which constitution allows members to vie for a certain position for a maximum of two terms of four years each but does not say when one can exit the federation.
That means you can serve as secretary general for eight years (if you win a second term), vie for the chairman’s seat for another eight years, serve as treasurer for the same period and many more if you keep winning elections.
That has worked against the game as the recycled officials seem to be serving self interests as opposed to developing the game, meaning whoever comes in next month, if new, have their work cut out.
Recent exploits by the men’s national team are a testament that the fans are hungry for quality matches and willing to pay for the same.
If proper structures are in place, then Kenyan basketball can get out of its deathbed.
Cynthia Mumbo, the CEO of a sports consultancy company, Sports Connect (Africa) Ltd, a former player with Storms who runs Vikapu Elite basketball academy, says top of the new office’s agenda should be a clear vision for all the brands that KBF handles.
“Men’s national team Morans, their female counterparts Lionesses, junior (age group) national teams, league teams and KBF itself are the brands that need clear visions if we are to grow the sport beyond its current state.
At the moment, the sport is yet to move from its social agenda to a commercial one despite having huge potential,” says Mumbo, who has previously worked with KBF.
The visions of these brands, according to Mumobo, should be pegged on four pillars namely performance, commercialisation, governance and accountability as well as development.
“Such vision and strategy needs an understanding of where the game is both locally and globally.
The office also needs to earn the trust of all stakeholders, avail information and involve them, to a great extend, in drafting of the vision and strategy of growing the sport,” said Mumbo.
