Fuba to meet NCS over Shs370m hole 

It’s not new. A national team is slated to compete at an international meet and is in a race against time to raise funds.

This time, like many times before, it’s the national basketball team, the Silverbacks whose participation in this month’s Afrobasket qualifiers needs a cash injection.

They need up to $100,000 (Shs370m) from National Council of Sports (NCS) to make it to the November 27-29 tournament in Alexandria, Egypt.

“We have not received the green light yet,” the Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (Fuba) president Nasser Sserunjogi told Daily Monitor.

“The General Secretary (Bernard Patrick) Ogwel has invited us for a meeting on Monday (today) to review the budget we submitted.”

But how do Fuba plan to spend Shs370m on a three-day tournament? “First of all, we plan to travel on November 12 (which is this Thursday) if we get money on time,” Sserunjogi retorts.

“We have to buy tickets for six players from Europe and US, plus coaches. Then, there is a pre-tournament camp.
“There is Fiba (Federation of International Basketball Associations) fee of $5,000 and debts of about $5,000 from the previous Afro-Chan,” Sserunjogi said.

Unlike other sports, Fuba must pay $60 per head per day for the duration of the four-team tournament where they will face hosts Egypt, Morocco and Cape Verde.
This financial year 2020/21, the NCS budget was trimmed from 26.2bn to 17.6bn.

The Coronavirus pandemic hasn’t made it any easier as the government made further deductions from the sports budget with the thinking there aren’t enough sports competitions happening.  
 
 The Silverbacks will need at least one win from the first leg to better their chances of qualifying heading into the second leg that will be played in February next year.

Afrobasket qualifiers

FIXTURES
November 27:
Egypt     vs    Uganda
November 28: 
Uganda    vs.    Morocco
November 29: 
Cape Verde     vs.    Uganda

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