Is a professional basketball league feasible in Kenya ?

[okjazz]

This article makes the argument that with a good long term plan, it can be done.

http://kenyapage.net/sports/comments/crowds.html

Do you agree ?

[manmbuzi]

The points put forth in that article are salient, to a point. Growing a fan base is half the job in the creation of a professional league; the other half entails the financial aspect of it all. Who will be paying the players if they are to do this as a full-time job? What about the training facilities? The transportation costs? Health insurance? Will the merchandising and ticket sales be enough to cover all these expenses and let the team owners make a profit worth their while?

[okjazz]

If a league is succesfully marketed and promoted, to the point where the public becomes excited about it, I believe companies will line up to sponsor it. Just recently KCB poured 100m into the safari rally which is hardly popular. That kind of money can sustain 10 professional teams.
80% of the reason March madness is so popular is due to media hype. The game itself can be boring and low quality at times.

Players dont have to be paid a lot. With unemployement the way it is , many players will be happy just to get a regular check

Ownership:
As stated in the article, community teams should preerably be run as non profits organization. That way any profits generated are immediately re-invested in the team and dont go towards lining up an owners pockets.

[4play]

av been an active basketball player in the Kenya Basketball Federation,KBF Premier league for the past 9 years.From the horses mouth i can proclaim that going 'pro' in Kenya is as elusive as Pius Muiru chasing after the presidency.
playing in the primier league for all this years,there's no notable changes av experienced.from the management to the facilities.I have played in the same gymnasium for all these years and av seen no notable improvement in the facilities(gym,the un lighting scoreboard,changing rooms,sitting arrangement ..should i go on)
the management of KBF is nothing to write home about.It is abound with coruption and misuse of funds.There are no clear cut guide lines on issue articulation.One wonders why KBF as a sports outfit in Kenya cannot attract Corporate funding and goverment support.To begin with,the National Team players put in body and sweat in training for major regional championships for a meagre 100 Ksh training allowance barely covering their fare to and from the training venue!!!Not to mention the favouritism associated with player selection.If that aint enough,on going for title defence in these regional tournaments they have to take long bus rides (over 19 hours e.g. when going to Tanzania)then putting up in dingy hotels and waking up so demoralised expecting to win the Tourna.On the flip side,their counterparts e.g. Egypt fly 1st class,are put up in posh Hotels (...case in point..Hilton Hotel,which they even claimed was a 3 star...!!),they do not worry about allowance and game dues coz their pockets are loaded,wallets are fat prior to their departure.It's little wonder then that a psychologically settled and wallet enhanced Egyptian National Team beats a demoralised Chedar deficient,wallet malnoursihed Kenyan National Team in all the encounter since time in memorial.
that not withstanding,i think(and i beg to be differed if i am wrong..)that the buck stops with the KBF to shape up or miss out on the KBF League making it pro.That way it will attract corporate sponsorship in terms of millions from big companies e.g. Safaricom,Kenya Breweries,Bamburi,Barclays just to mention but a few.
The basketball talent in Kenya is rife,most of which is going to waste.All the ballers out there if u feel me...av thrown u an alley hoop,if u feel me flow,hit a 360 dunk on this vybe...re-talk.lets make these fools(pun intended)style up.i would be making mill(ions)if i was playing COLLEGE BALL in the States!isht!

[thedude]

Pro Bball in Kenya? Hell No! We need to get rid of those old school KBF guyz first! KBF management has no organizational skills and their marketing is poor.

Observations:

KBF wouldn't run a road side kiosk if their lives depended on it

Corporate teams have been pulling out for the last 5 years. Remember Post Bank, Sprite, NSSF, Ulinzi? The league is now dominated by 2 banks, some college teams and a horde of estate teams

Motivation: Throw some cash. Imagine after a whole season of breaking ankles, bruised knees, sweat, blood and tears you get a measly tin plated trophy from Nairobi Sports House, a 2 bob medal and a FREAKING HAND SHAKE! No cash incentive.

Too few games: Teams in the League:9. Games played per season: 16. 16 games a season is not worth attending practice 4 times a week, you have a life!

We've had one national team coach for the last 15 years! Not forgetting 1 point guard for the same period of time

Crowd: During a regular season game, at least 85% of the crowd in attendance is comprised of: players who had their games earlier in the day, players who are waiting to play the next game, officials, curious wananchi who heard noises emanating from the Nyayo Gym.

Games: Women games should be moved to 9am, period. Div I basketball is more exciting, deserves to be moved to 2 pm onwards.

Lets have some flood lit games. Who said the game has to end at 6pm. Rumour has it that KBF cant afford to run floodlites for more than 20mins.

Players. It's easy sometimes to blame KBF for the declining standards, but players: UP YOUR GAME! ***, i didnt spend my valuable time and energy to watch you miss an open lay-up, brick ALL your free throws, chapati dunks and accumulate 5 fouls in 8 mins. I demand good basketball if you want my time and money!!!

Officiating. You Whistle happy bustards!!!!

We have strippers in Nairobi everywhere nowadays, why cant we have some cheerleaders!!

I could go on forever but you get the gist. BTW I played for a college team in the Premier League and i have never had so much fun. I quat after college coz 4 training sessions a week aint worth it!!

[kip2002]

The only way to built a basketball teams is for private investors who are passionate about the game to invest on private teams.

[kirk]

Originally Posted by kip2002

The only way to built a basketball teams is for private investors who are passionate about the game to invest on private teams.

I agree with you. Basically we need an elite group of companies & strategic partners, who are willing to invest and build in to the game for the long term.

Something similar to what cocacola has been doing for soccer in Kenya - albeit with limited success.

[a.wanjala]

The secret is orginazation. Private investors would be ideal, because no one wants there money to go down the drain. They would demand orginization.

Sports is a business. People have to be making money for it to be succesful. The question is, can basketball make you money? There has to be enough potential fan interest, and I think that there is. With the proper orginization, basketball could become huge in Kenya.


Why haven't people trained the Sudaneese to play Bake?? Those guys could be monsters in Bake......