Buz applies for permission to compete in Egypt

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter

THE Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) has applied to the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC) for clearance to travel to Egypt for the Under-16 Afro-Basket Championships.

The continental juniors’ championships for boys and girls were initially scheduled for Mali, but were moved to Egypt and are tentatively set to run from August 6-15.

Joe Mujuru, BUZ president, is hoping that the SRC might review the blanket ban imposed on all incoming and outgoing sports tours, which saw the national Under-18 boys’ and girls’ teams missing out from competing at the DR Congo 3×3 World Cup qualifier.

“We’ve sent our application for the Under-16s and we’re hoping for a favourable response as we seek to have grassroots sports active during the Covid-19 period. As you are aware, junior development has been hard hit by the pandemic and such competitions like the continental meet give hope to our youngsters during such hard times.

“We’ve attached all relevant supporting documents and should we fail to get a response, say by the end of Friday, we will be left with no option but to pull the plug,” said Mujuru.

BUZ has told their international federation that their participation hangs in balance.

“We’ve notified FIBA that they should be prepared to replace us should we fail to get the clearance because Covid-19 has made it difficult to plan, especially for us. At this stage it has been difficult even to confirm participation at competitions that are partly funded by the international federation. Covid-19 has really robbed the developing players of opportunities to compete at international events,” said Mujuru. – @ZililoR