African basketball revival starting in Senegal?

By Darren Gorton on May 10, 2010 in FanZone

Senegal

Senegalese basketball has just elected a new president, Baba Tandian.

Just listen to some of Mr Tandian’s comments in this interview (a rough translation, I presume) published on FIBA Afrique, and consider how familiar the issues that Senegalese basketball is facing sound to us.

There is not any political hand behind my nomination. We expect to solve all financial difficulties hindering the good working of our sport

Change things entirely. Elected, we expect to solve all the financial difficulties hindering the good working of our sport.

Basketball is a common property and we have to do anything it takes for its development. I am not anyone candidate. I’m coming to bring new breath to that sport.

There will be sponsors. And we shall not accept pieces. It time for Basketball to take off.

I think that a strategy to remove basketball from the abyss is required. That goes through first by the setting up a good financial politics. That is to say that I have strategically partners which will not hesitate to support our efforts.

People have to be aware. We have to gather all our strength in order to rehabilitate this discipline. As President, I will do my best to give Senegal basketball the respect it deserves.

Interestingly, Mr Tandian repeats two important themes throughout the interview:

Respect – his words indicate a deep seated respect for the game and for the participants – a determination to improve the game for the benefit of the entire basketball community.
Funding – with a goal of solving “financial difficulties” and clearly wanting to involve sponsors and spend money on developing the game from a youth (“small”) level right through to professional levels, showing a belief that this is an absolute necessity to make progress.

From this interview it sounds like Mr Tandian is determined to make positive change in Senegalese basketball. Let’s hope it sets an example for all basketball programmes in Africa that are struggling to make headway.