It is great news for basketball lovers and the Basketball Association of Malawi (BASMAL). According to the association, construction of a basketball court in Lilongwe worth that is K360M is underway.
According to Edgar Ng’ong’ola, the Secretary-General of the Basketball Association of Malawi, the project for the construction of basketball court in different parts of the country began since 2016. The project had support from Dawn Staley Initiative of the USA.
The Secretary-General also said, “The project which involves the construction of basketball courts across the country began in August 2016 and during that time a basketball court was constructed in Blantyre at the Zingwangwa Youth Center. The court had been completed and commissioned and people are already making use of it. And now, the good news is that construction of the Lilongwe court is underway. And it will be sited at the Kamuzu Institute of Sports.
According to Edgar Ng’ong’ola, the Secretary-General of BASMAL, the association achieved its first milestone with the courts in Blantyre and Lilongwe. And there are plans to do even more. In fact, more basketball courts will be constructed across the country to increase the total number of courts and improve the game.
He said, “BASMAL plans to construct at least two basketball courts in each district. And at the completion of the entire project, there would be a total number of 56 basketball courts in the country. Our goal is to complete these projects as soon as possible. We are also taking things one at a time because of the financial implication. However, we are positive that our goal to create more basketball court in Malawi will be achieved, just like the project done in Blantyre and Lilongwe.
The Secretary-General also commented that the association is very happy to have the person of the vice president who is very passionate about the game and function as one of the players too.
Ng’ong’ola said, “Our vice president is very passionate about the sport and he is also a very prolific player. He is someone the youngsters can use as their role model for the sport. His presence and interest in the game has promoted the sport throughout the country.”
He also added that BASMAL is planning to introduce basketball in schools and will start a developmental league which will target all secondary schools in Malawi. He also used the opportunity to call on sponsors to support the plan.