Chronicle Editor
Innocent Kurira, Sports Reporter
DAY one of the Afro-basket/Afro Can qualifiers set for the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair was turned into a rest day owing to teams arriving late in the city with Malawi joining South Africa in pulling out of the competition.
Four nations will now converge for the Women’s Afro-Basket and Men’s Afro Can qualifiers slated to run from today up to February 28 at the Zimbabwe International Trade Fair.
With South Africa and Malawi having pulled out of the competitions for unspecified grounds, hosts Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Angola, and Zambia are now expected to do battle.
Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (Buz) president Joe Mujuru said despite the minor hiccups action is set to get underway today.
“The fixtures and tournament schedule will be settled after a technical committee which we have later today (yesterday). Zambia are on their way and should arrive today (yesterday) while the rest of the teams are already in Bulawayo.
“From the technical meeting everything should be set and ready for action to get underway. Besides the two issues we are ready to go,” said Mujuru.
Zimbabwe successfully hosted the same tournament in 2015 at the ZITF.
Angola, Zambia, Mozambique and Zimbabwe will compete in the Women’s Afro Basket Zone Six Qualifiers, with the finals of the quadrennial tournament pencilled in for July 28 to August 6 in Kigali, Rwanda.
In the men’s Afro Can Zone Six Qualifiers, Zimbabwe will slug it out with Zambia, Mozambique.
The tournament, which is still relatively new, is a national team competition for players based in Africa.
It is also specifically for nations that will not compete in the World Cup African Qualifiers.
Four teams, the Democratic Republic Congo, Kenya, Angola and Morocco have already qualified for the finals of the second edition of the International Basketball Federation (Fiba) AfroCan by virtue of reaching the semi-finals of the last edition that was held in Bamako, Mali.
The host nation and dates for the 2023 Fiba Afro Can are yet to be determined. — @innocentskizoe.
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter