Kenya has inked a deal with the United States National Basketball Association (NBA) that will allow it to set up an office in Nairobi and help in the development of the sport in the country.
The deal was signed between Sports CS Ababu Namwamba and NBA Africa chief executive Victor Williams, making Kenya the second country in the region with a similar arrangement after Rwanda.
President William Ruto witnessed the signing of the deal on the sideline of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).
“The signing of an agreement with the National Basketball Association (NBA) will facilitate the development of basketball infrastructure in Kenya, with the capacity to host top-level competitions,” Ruto noted.
Under the deal, the NBA will work with community-based organisations and learning institutions to promote sports under the Ministry’s Talanta Hela Initiative.
NBA will also train coaches, develop basketball courts, and host competitions.
The Association manages the professional basketball league in the US and Canada with 30 teams.
It is considered the premier basketball league in the world, with coaches and players among the highest-paid sportsmen in the world.
As part of its deal with Rwanda, the Association early this year donated an indoor basketball court to help develop the sport in the East African country.
Rwanda was also the first country on the continent to host a Basketball Africa League tournament in 2021, putting the country on the global sports map.
Ruto has signed numerous deals on the sidelines of UNGA, which supporters argue will increase foreign investments in the country.
This is the first major sporting deal that the country has signed since Ruto came to office.
