CNN Predicts The African Basketball League A Change Maker

Going by the success of it’s historic inaugural season, the African Basketball League was over the weekend featured on African Voices, CNN’s International weekly highlighting Africa’s most engaging personalities.

In a special edition, the CEO of the African Basketball League, Ugo Udezue alongside the founder of African Leadership Academy, Fred Swaniker were featured as Change Makers transforming lives across African.

According to CNN: “ These individuals are shaking up the status quo and simultaneously empowering their fellow countrymen”.

Udezue, a former basketball international who once pitched tent with Wyoming in the United States recounts his passion for the game of Sports and how the game has united Africans through the court.

He recognizes basketball as more than a game with his vision of having an ABL team in each African country.
‘’My goal is to provide a safe and socially conducive entertaining environment with basketball as the epicenter”, Udezue stated.

For the African Basketball League, it’s all about making a change in Africa.

Fans of the league believe that the CNN focus on ABL is a milestone as the league is barely eight months in existence. The league featured six clubs from four countries in the first season that ended in May. They are Lagos Islanders, Lagos Warriors, Stallions (Nigeria); Abidjan Ramblers of Ivory Coast, Izobe Libreville (Gabon) and Dakar Rapids (Senegal). Ramblers won the first test season which the playoffs held in Abidjan.

Expectations are high as the second season of the ABL will tip off in October 2016 with more countries and more teams competing to be crowned the African Basketball League Champions.

CNN’s ‘African Voices’ learns that Udezue is hoping for even further expansion still: “In the next three years we'll be in 20 countries in Africa… We want to create an opportunity for each individual franchise and each individual city to be a whole business entity that is profitable and can create jobs, opportunity, entertainment, a social environment and capture the whole dynamics when it comes to sports.”

Also featured in this weeks ‘African Voices’ is Fred Swaniker, who has founded a university in Mauritius and Dr Kaitesi, who is saving lives as one of Rwanda’s first female surgeons.