Former President and noted basketball fan Barack Obama, was the first president in U.S. history to build a basketball court at the White House.
On Saturday, Obama tweeted support for an initiative that’s going to result in a lot more basketball courts getting built a lot farther away than 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue.
Obama voiced his support for an NBA and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) initiative, which will establish a new basketball league in Africa.
I’ve always loved basketball because it’s about building a team that’s equal to more than the sum of its parts. Glad to see this expansion into Africa because for a rising continent, this can be about a lot more than what happens on the court. https://t.co/lghcLaUN9a
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) February 16, 2019
According to the Associated Press, Obama will do a lot more than tweet kudos for the new league. The former chief executive will have a direct, yet as of now undetermined role with the new venture.
Obama is seen addressing young athletes in an NBA video promoting the league’s efforts in Africa.
“I hope you know through sport that if you put in effort you will be rewarded, I hope you learn through sport what it means to play as a team and that even if you are the best player your job is not just to show off but your job is to make your teammates better,” Obama said just before hitting 3-pointer.
According to CBS:
The league will feature 12 teams from across the continent with games scheduled to begin in January 2020. This is the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America. FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis said in a statement the partnership is a “natural extension of what we have done through the joint initiative that is Basketball Without Borders (BWB), which helps find, develop and nurture young talented players all around the world, including in Africa. The Basketball Africa League will enable us to build on the solid foundation laid by FIBA Africa and relaunch the continent’s club competition to offer the ultimate platform for the very best clubs and players.”
‘The Basketball Africa League is an important next step in our continued development of the game of basketball in Africa,’ echoed Silver. ‘Combined with our other programs on the continent, we are committed to using basketball as an economic engine to create new opportunities in sports, media and technology across Africa.’
Obama frequently played basketball while in office, and was a regular feature on ESPN. Specifically, for his “Baracketology” feature in which he predicted the winners of college basketball’s NCAA Tournament.
Follow Dylan Gwinn on Twitter @themightygwinn
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