Somali Basketball Report- August 7, 2004
POSTED BY: Eurobasket Center
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Basketball is one of the most popular sport in Somalia. It is only second to soccer in popularity. Somalia is a member of International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the Association of African Amateur Basketball Federations (AFABA) Somali people are passionate about their basketball and they support the local club teams. In 1982, Somalia hosted the African men's Championship in Mogadishu. The national men's teams placed third in those games Ever since those games held in Mogadishu, the national men's team had not seen success. The national team hope to rebound from years of disappointment and bring hope to the nation. Address: There is also the Junior Development Program Office run by Abdifatah Ahmed in Toronto Here is a story courtesy of the website: playsoccer-nonprofit.org It is from 2002 about SOS Basketball Program in Mogadishu: "In 2002 SOS Children's Village Mogadishu organized Games, although the event was not on as large a scale as 2001 Global Peace Games. "Organizing such events in a war prone area such as Mogadishu, Somalia, is quite a daunting task. However, this event was organized and proved very successful. The Games kicked off on September 28th in the afternoon. The teams that started the tournaments were SOS basketball and Walaalah from the city. Adan Yabarow Wish, the Chairman of the Somali Basketball Federation (effectively in 2002), officially opened the Games together with the SOS Village Director, Mr. Mohamed Sheikh. The guest of honor was Mr. Abdiquadir Ibrahim Ga'al, the Acting Chairman of the Somali Olympic Committee. Vice President of the Somali Basketball Federation, the SOS Management Committee, the Somali Olympic Committee, members of Somali Sports Federations, local TV and radio stations, SOS mothers, children, and staff members and other guests from the community. Mr. Sheikh, the SOS Village Director, mentioned in his speech that the Somali youth and children should use sports as a stepping-stone for forging peace and emphasizing friendliness and cooperation. He also mentioned that sports helped develop good qualities in children and make them responsible people. In the future, these children and youth would become better people who would in turn make better decisions and the world a better place to live in. Mr. Ga'al of the Olympic Committee also gave a speech and emphasized the importance of peace saying, 'Where there is no peace there is nothing.' He praised SOS for hosting the Games and for being on the frontline of promoting sports of peace." Eurobasket has also run a story dated August 7, 2004 on our Eurobasket Canada page (editor Garo Salibian) about the Somail Youth Basketball League (SYBL). |
