NBA Africa on a mission to popularize Basketball in South Africa
NBA Africa is working to popularize basketball in South Africa by focusing on grassroots development, financial support, and nurturing coaches. In this exclusive interview, Head of Social Responsibility Mthoko Madonda discusses strategies to grow the sport and generate interest among young players.
In recent years, South Africa has become one of the African countries that have struggled to perform on the African, and global basketball stages.
As a result, nurturing talent from the grassroots level has been a challenge, and Basketball South Africa’s current financial state warrants concern.
In an effort to make a change, NBA Africa’s Head of Social Responsibility, Mthoko Madonda in this interview discusses efforts to grow the sport in South Africa, financial support, nurturing coaches, and interest from young children.
Growing the game:
Basketball in South Africa ranks among many of the unpopular sporting codes, often overshadowed by Rugby, Soccer, and Cricket.
However, over the past 11 years, with the introduction of the South African Basketball National League (BNL), appetite for the sport in the republic has slightly increased.
It’s at the grassroots level and in disadvantaged communities where many young kids struggle to get their hands on a basketball. Through clinics and coaching activations, NBA Africa says it wants to end the lack of accessibility for the sport.
We want to create access and opportunities for young people through the power of basketball
Mthoko Madonda
“Gender parity is important to us, we want as many girls playing the sport, providing them with equal opportunities as the boys.”
“There’s a wider strategic objective for us, we’ve got various projects around the country and there’s a lot of investments that we are doing as NBA Africa to grow the game from grassroots all the way to elite.”
Financial Support:
NBA Africa has a junior league in Johannesburg which is made up of several private schools, and public schools in communities like Soweto.
The aim is to at least have a running league in every province; however, they’ll need serious financial backing from the government and stakeholders to achieve that specific goal.
“We want to grow the sport, but we can’t do it alone,” added Madonda.
We need to engage other partners so we can have a league in all major cities in SA culminating into a massive junior league.
Mthoko Madonda
Nurturing coaches:
For NBA Africa to get the grassroots structures operating swiftly, one of the important aspects of growing the game would be to ensure that coaches are well-equipped to assist young players on and off the park.
This includes making sure that coaches are knowledgeable about the game, have the necessary tools and resources to coach, and are upskilling themselves regularly.
Madonda says it’s a key area they’ve invested in.
“Without good coaches, we can’t grow the game, let’s be honest,” he said.
“It’s very important we provide local coaches with skills, and tools, so they can become the best coaches possible.
“It’s part of our key strategic pillar, we want to do more in terms of helping coaches. We want to have more coaching clinics, and training sessions with them, and encourage them to study the game, and improve their knowledge.”
The Republic’s Interest in the Sport:
With Basketball falling out of the major sporting codes South Africa is popularly known for, generating interest in the sport has proved to be challenging, Madonda admitted.
“We are still developing the interest, and we’re trying by all means to grow the fanbase.”
“We love that kids prefer dribbling a basketball more than playing cricket. The sport is cool, speaks to young people and we want to do more to bring people into our space,” he concluded.
Avuyile Sawula is a young sports journalist, broadcaster, and writer. He completed his Journalism and Media qualification at the Cape Peninsula University of Technology, recently carved his way into the industry, and has developed a neck for multimedia reporting on various online platforms.
He began his career as a Junior writer and Intern at Grit Sports News, where his main reporting beats were Rugby and Cricket. He covered major sporting events such as the HSBC Cape Town 7s, HSBC 7s World Cup, the Inaugural SA20 auction, Formula E, and more.