The president of the Ghana Basketball Association, Ato Van-Ess, believes the introduction of the National Basketball Championship will assist the development of regional leagues for the sport in the country.
The National Basketball Championship, which launched last year in December, now gives local players motivation to perform well at the regional level, Van-Ess says.
“This is year two since we started the championship,” he told Asaase Sports.
“Definitely, it’s going to be an improvement over last year, because last year when they were playing the regional leagues they didn’t even believe that we could have the national championship to come, so they were sceptical – somewhere on the bench, and on the fence.
“But the national championship came up, [and] now everybody knows that if you play the regional leagues well, there’s this opportunity to go for the Basketball Africa League and to be selected to the national team . . .
“So the motivation is there. At least they know that we’ll go for a national championship. Previously you played in the region and that was it: now you know you’re going for the national championship. From there, you are going international.
“The mission is quite clear,” Van-Ess said. “Everyone will be serious about the region which will also impact on the level of the regional leagues.”
In December 2022, the Ghana Basketball Association (GBBA) held the maiden National Basketball Championship in Cape Coast in the Central Region. Accra Basketball were winners of the men’s division and the Ghana Revenue Authority emerged tops in the women’s division.
Fastest–growing sport
Ato Van-Ess also believes basketball is the fastest-growing sport in Ghana.
The fans’ enthusiasm for watching and taking part in the sport at all levels has made it attractive, fuelling its growth in the country, he said.
“In the 2022 GUSA Games [organised by the Ghana Universities Sports Association], the participation was massive, right from the number of people watching the basketball.
“It also happened in Cape Coast during the National Championships. Check the records of the number of people there.
“… Basketball is for the youth, and one thing with basketball is that it’s very attractive. There’s no way that basketball will be going on and nobody will watch it,” he told Asaase Sports.
“When we out there when we are talking to the youth, especially everybody is talking about basketball. They want to be involved in one way or the other.”
Princeton Kwabena Wiredu
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