adminA storm is brewing in the Bulawayo Basketball Association following a resolution at the association’s annual general meeting to expel clubs from the schools.
The clubs which have been excluded for this season were based at Milton, Townsend and Nkulumane. Elephants who trained at Milton played in the men’s league together with Nkulumane Stars who also had a team in the women’s set up while Flame Lily had Townsend as their training base playing in the women’s competition.
An official from one of the affected clubs Thokozani Sigola of Elephants maintained that the resolution to exclude the clubs could not be justified, saying the move was against the constitution of the Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) as well as the Sports and Recreation Commission policies.
Sigola even alleged that the BBA leadership did not like him because he always criticised the way they were running the sport in the metropolitan province. The outspoken Sigola disclosed that he has since approached BUZ as well as the SRC over the issue of his club’s expulsion.
“We have been expelled from the league on the basis that we are a school based team, we’ve no issue with school teams being expelled. Our club is not a school based team so we can’t be expelled on those grounds. The expulsion is against the BUZ and Zimbabwe constitution and violates SRC policies,’’ said Sigola.
Opportunity Moyo, the BBA president said the decision taken by congress at the AGM held on 28 September was arrived at after school based teams caused a lot of disturbances to the league by forfeiting most of their matches.
Moyo said they (BBA) were in talks with the National Association of Secondary Heads to look at how they could set up a league for the schools with BBA vice-president in charge of promotions Durall Adams trying to secure sponsorship to that effect.
“The decision came from the assembly, we are speaking to Nash so that we can set up a competitive schools league supported by BBA. We are trying to get them a sponsor. There were too many forfeits, they had to attend to their own activities. We had them for one full season on a trial basis, it has been a challenge to have them. They were not so competitive so it doesn’t help when you play weaker teams. We proposed to have an A and B league but our numbers did not allow for it. There was a clash with school tournaments,’’ said Moyo.
Meanwhile, the BBL season got underway yesterday at the Bulawayo Club for the Disabled minus the school based clubs.
derick.khumalo
Online Reporter