March 29, 2024

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Former US president Obama set for new role in African league set up by NBA

Former US president Barack Obama is set to take up a role with a new basketball league being setting up in Africa by the NBA.

Obama shared his support for the idea and is set to be directly involved in the alliance between the NBA and basketball’s global governing body FIBA to create an elite competition involving several African countries.

Obama confirmed his support for the venture even though his role hasn’t quite been defined yet.

 “I’ve always loved basketball because it’s about building a team that’s equal to more than the sum of its parts. Glad to see this expansion into Africa because for a rising continent, this can be about a lot more than what happens on the court,” he tweeted.

Barack Obama excited to be involved. (AAP)

The plan involves a 12-team league to begin playing in January 2020 but it’s yet to be confirmed which existing clubs will be part of it.

The Joint-venture will start with qualification tournaments to be held later this year in countries including Egypt, Angola, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.

Rules state no country will have more than two sides competing.

The NBA and FIBA will team up to fund the project and will continue to provide resources to grow the game over the sprawling continent, and will invest in coaching and training for players, referees and officials.

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