BUZ slapped with US$50 000 fine

Ricky Zililo, Senior Sports Reporter
COVID-19 effects have taken their toll on the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ), which has been slapped with a US$50 000 fine by International Basketball Federation (FIBA Africa) for failing to send the Under-16 teams to the Afro-basket Championships.

The championships are underway in Egypt and will end on August 13.

BUZ withdrew the country’s Under-16 boys’ and girls’ teams from participating in the junior continental tournament after failing to get clearance from the Sports and Recreation Commission (SRC).

BUZ abandoned its quest to send the Under-16s a month after its request to send the Under-18 boys’ and girls’ teams to the DR Congo for a 3×3 World Cup qualifier was also declined by the SRC.

The Under-18 application fell under a blanket ban that was imposed by the country’s supreme sporting body on all incoming and outgoing sport tours for the sake of public health and safety.

Joe Mujuru, the BUZ president, said Zimbabwe will not be allowed to enter any competition under the auspices of FIBA until it pays the US$50 000 fine.

“It’s a blow to the sport of basketball in the country because now we’re faced with a situation where we have to pay US$50 000 as fine for failing to send the two teams to Egypt. It wasn’t anyone’s fault that we find ourselves in such a case, as these are the effects of Covid-19.

“Ordinarily, we could have managed to send the teams after confirming participation long back before the lockdown and we had been hoping to get clearance as we had seen other sport codes being cleared, but that wasn’t the case,” said Mujuru.

He said immediately after failing to get clearance for the Under-16s, the union resolved not to send the senior women’s basketball side for the Afro-basket Games in Angola, which start on August 16. — @ZililoR