 Good afternoon and welcome back to the touchline on Y25 for Maxel Waseke is my name. This time round we want to speak about state of basketball in the country with one gentleman and a lady who form an integral part of the game in the country. Zdekai otieno, not an unfamiliar face on this particular platform has been here before several times before he got some nice deal overseas and travelled to Germany and forgot us. Even he was not picking our calls but you know, East of West Ham is the best and Ivy a Rungu from Holiday Inn also joining us this particular platform. Good to see you guys, Zdekai, how are you doing bro? I'm well and thanks for having me. How was Germany then? Since then I'm seeing you, you've been lost and found. Not really, Germany was called, it was nice. It was a nice educational program and I'm happy I'm back implementing all that I'd learnt in Germany now back home. Oh, it was something related to basketball? Yes, it was a basketball scholarship. It was a higher diploma in sports development in relation to science. Wow, good stuff and hopefully you get the opportunity to share the insights you got from Germany so that it gets implemented to the latter locally. Yes and that is why we're here today because that is part of what we learnt in terms of how do we develop the game of basketball and how do we do that is by creating local junior leagues. Good stuff and Ivy a Rungu from Holiday Inn as spear and marketing, good to see you Ivy, how are you doing? Very well, thank you for having me. You also love sports? Yes especially basketball. You see I have the height in case you're doubting. When did you develop your love for basketball? That is a story for another day. And a long one? A very long one. So tell us how you guys are involved in advocating and finding basketball activities in the country? We are very honoured to have partnered with Zeddy and Vikapo Elite because it's something as Holiday Inn we've been working towards getting in touch with the community for different projects not just in arts and the corporate meetings but things like athletics. So this is a fast partnership and we're going to be the hospitality partner for the whole league for the next three months. So if you actually come to watch the games while they're being hosted at Holiday Inn to River Small you're going to have the opportunity to enjoy our hospitality because we're going to be feeding the teams, we're going to be making sure the coaches are refreshed and that's something we're really looking forward to. Looking forward to that. There is something I'm always passionate about and we haven't mentioned whether you guys will be offering it but maybe I'll come to the location and try to establish whether it's on offer. So did you tell us about Junior League for Vikapo Basketball? How is the progress? I think it started a week ago. Yes the launch was a week ago and then the games also started immediately. So basically it's called the Fruits Nairobi Junior League because we had a title sponsor which was Aquamist which came in with their juice brand. Then we have Aphrolite and we have Holiday Inn who are coming in as hospitality partner. It is very very integral for us to have Junior Basketball League for kids because once we start structuring it like this it means it gives these kids a platform whereby they showcase their talent and once they do that it's so easy to identify them and channel them into the Junior National Teams. Remember the Africa under 16s on 5 games have just ended in Rwanda. We did not represent a team and it's so sad and it is because we don't have clear structures in development whereby these kids can be identified early so that they are trained as a national team and they go outside there and represent the country. So having such partners on board gives us the platform to just hold a league for the next three months. We are going to play close to 162 games for the three months and you see these are going to be very very exciting games because we have teams cut across Nairobi from Korogosho, Dandora, Kajole, Umoja, Kibira, Kilimani, Rwanda so it is a league that is covering the whole of Nairobi. Let me be realistic and ask you a very blunt question. When I was at the college I was so passionate about basketball. We were being coached by Griffin Ligare. He was the coach for the college basketball side and I could... Kenya Wan? Ya, Kenya Wan. I could personally attend the entire university games go to KU, USIU, J-Quart. Because of the love and overwhelming passion I had for the game. Not necessarily I was playing but just to watch. But you see, what do we need to do to reclaim the rose gold glory in between there is something that happened to our game and basketball is giving us a kuruji. Yes and it is because of the PR that is going around and also the partners we have because running a league means a lot of financial power that needs to go into it. So with good financing it means we are able to advertise the league, we are able to highlight the league and that is why now the fans are starting to come and remember we need to start training the skill at a very early age and exposing it at a very early age so that you are able to journey with this kid when he is 14, 16 so that you are able to aspire to sit down and watch him play and now we are very very happy that the league is going to run and the partners we have from Aquamis to Olidein to Afralet they are going to ensure that the league is sustained for the next two years and that is what is amazing because some of the partners have committed to that so it means for the next two years we are going to have a league and our work as VKAP is to ensure even beyond the two years we need to come up with an under 14 league that will be running concurrently with the under 16 and also with the under 18 so that you have an under 14 league under 16 league and under 18 league then once that chain is complete now they can be absorbed into the national team both juniors and seniors in the past before you come to live in the past I have seen as putting tournament getting initiated then let's run a few days later I think the federation concerned raise eyebrows over legitimacy of the event this one of you has been sanctioned by Kenya basketball federation so that whatever you are doing is in tandem with lay down regulations of KBF and if you also saw the launch of the league we are representative from Kenya basketball federation we wrote to them before the start of the league they wrote back to us sanctioning the league so it means they are aware of the league existing and running at the same time we talked also with the Kenya basketball referees association to also sanction the referees so we have followed all du protocol that is needed to ensure that the league is legitimate and they are aware the league is running and it will run for the next three months and beyond because some of the contracts that we are getting into with some of these partners is to ensure the sustainability of the league because if you are not able to ensure the sustainability of the league then there is nothing you are doing because you need this league to be there beyond us Aivi, now talk to us about probably in the future if you are seeking spreading your anxiety a little bit further you know supporting senior side now that you are supporting a junior tournament in the name of the league they have started a week ago do you seek maybe going a bit overboard a bit overboard in supporting other sports or Yes, other sports and even the senior basketball league No, yes, definitely so that's why we are very proud of Zeddy and the vikapu elite team this being the first partnership like he mentioned it's something we want to make sure is long term and is sustainable so he's just helped us shout even bigger that we are very open very open to partnering with other sports we are looking forward and cheering them on to go higher because in the same way there is many other holy deans across the globe so you know if you feel Zeddy grew from vikapu elite is now playing games all over that's also another network that we'd be happy to bring in the whole brand because there is more hotels under the brand to support this league and the higher the better the doors are open so we are inviting more people who would like our support we are trying to say that they feel privileged getting spawned that they are reputable so you are saying that you love the sport and you developed a passion for basketball at some point maybe in your tender age where do you see basketball in the next let's say 10 years locally I'll be very honest when we had the first conversation with Zeddy immediately I went online and checked the NBA what they are doing what kind of projects they have so I would like to believe by partnering with people who share vision and who understand basketball way better than I probably would that's why we know we are going to get it to very bigger levels in the next 10 years but as a fan and as someone who played back then the country just showcase basketball at a more competitive level and all across the globe wow good stuff and the country as she looks forward seeing the country showcase basketball at a big stage are we making this happen as recorders of the sport we need to because basketball is one of the first growing sports not only in Kenya but in the continent so I'm proud that us having done or made such strides in development because remember our sustainability in terms of performance is boils down to the development of the league and you guys were talking about Kenya rugby and what they are doing they are not in the big stages right now but what they do locally is what will determine how are they going to perform if they are going to go back into the bigger circuit so in basketball we are putting structures in development and that is the biggest thing and we are happy because you see Aquamista doing it in rugby and Menengai and Cabras and all that and now they are starting to do it in basketball and we hope that such partnerships when they are anchored under good vision under good dream then they need to leave the test of time and we need to give our kids that platform so that they are able to not only represent themselves but represent the country and represent the game as well Initially when you were starting Vikapo Basketball League I think you had prioritized your involvement in schools where we all agree that there is plenty of untapped potential at the school level but they never get the chance to showcase their prowess so that because of lack of structures I don't know how is it like in terms of ensuring continuity that get to be supported at a tender age in school level as they rise above Ya, when you go to Kajole where we are also working with Fais Basketball Association we have been able to put up basketball courts in all the five public primary schools and we are having a sitting also with the governor just to ensure that this can be replicated in all the public primary schools within Nairobi. Remember when we were growing up we used to have basketball courts in all the estates now this is something that needs to come back and when you look at something like this league and say that it encompasses all the communities within Nairobi so it's going to be very interesting when we come to the end of it how they fare on and also trying to see if this can only just be a precursor then maybe have a league with more teams now the teams are only 18 because you have only 10 boys team 8 girls team but you are looking at a situation whereby why not have 30 teams in the league why not have 60 teams in the league because once you get to that level it means every single primary school or majority of them will be in the league they will have something to look up to so that is why the fruits in Nairobi Junior League is so crucial for us at this point and we need to ensure that it is sustained, it exists and players can have something to look up to because when you travel across Africa there are a lot of junior leagues that are happening not only in Kenya we don't have because in other countries you have the junior NBA leagues and all that but in Kenya we don't have so it's so important and I believe those are some of the things that the government also look at when they try to sponsor some of these competitions and it's so sad when a junior national team cannot travel to go compete yet we have kids who are talented and are equal to that opportunity so we need to ensure that we put in structures and having a league so that this one is so essential Aivi, Randa our neighbors and East African compatriots are doing prominently well in terms of basketball of course in an initiative led by their president Paul Kagame we've seen construction of courts when he's already in taking us for benchmarking mission benchmarking mission so that we learn what we're not doing and what Randa has been doing if in case it gets to be replicated we'll do better as well well we'd be very happy to speak to our partners across the continent like I mentioned apart from the holiday in hotel brand the mother brand has many other many other sub brands and properties across the continent but you've heard of Randa's heroic exploits in basketball what can we do to learn from Randa so that we can emulate on them as well I think our leadership just needs to change in terms of their vision in terms of their ideology because as I said basketball is one of the first growing sports in the continent and you see basketball what is called now the basketball Africa League BAL which means they are focusing on the talent that is within Africa so we also need to ensure that our standards in terms of our facilities get to that level because BAL is just a five year deal again with Rwanda it means BAL finals for the next five years is going to be played in Rwanda if you look at our economy is bigger than Rwanda's so it means this is an economy that can sustain Kenyans are people who are lifeist they want to go out, they want to spend what was shere so I think our sports team needs to look into this so that we build facilities and infrastructure NBA and all these other people to come to Kenya because this is a good market this is a good market to hold such activities and that is why we need to start convincing sponsors and everything that it's time to come into sports it's time to invest in sports and it will pay back how is the progress in terms of Kenya's partnership with global basketball? I think it's been in Nairobi constructing several basketball courts how is the progress so far he has done well because this year he opened a court in Kayole he opened a court in Dagoreti and there is one how many politics have you raised Kenyan culture so far so good because you see he has a team that he works with the team is locally so they just do the operation and everything from that point of view so I think there is no politics I think the politic comes in when now we start involving other governments but I think so far so good is doing well it's not going to be the last time that is doing that now the attention shifts to Kigali Rwanda in August because they are doing one of the biggest activities because they are going to bring in 14 different countries for what is called the Jans of Africa Festival we are going to have Davido we are going to have people performing there so it's going to be one week of good basketball experience for kids and I'm happy Kenya is being represented by two teams, a girls team and a boys team and then the team that is playing the finals today the Nairobi County finals will be representing Kenya in Kigali in August are you looking forward to that? yes of course we are it will be a nice experience right? yes that's why we've kicked off with him and the team right now because we know it's getting better and bigger and we are trusting the vision they have with the game because like I said we've just partnered they have the vision and we are happy to join hands and get there together and in the past there has been lack of goodwill from Kenyan corporates coming to the rescue of our dying sporting activities in the country because of that corporate confidence for the few weeks you had a collaboration with them how are things looking like? things are looking promising and like to believe it has been good so far as they did I think maybe what I would mention is just for when you reaching out to partner with any corporate it's important to understand the vision and the mission that they have that way once you're able to align you as a person reaching out for sponsorship or support you're both aligned that way you'll definitely have the corporate supporting more and more but you see now we're also setting an example for other corporates to join the community and support this Wow, Ivy, Rungu and Zedeka joining us this particular afternoon to share their insights regarding state of basketball in the country ahead of the Nairobi County league set for 3pm 3pm today which teams? Vikapu Elite versus Friends so you're obviously looking for to win in your favor of course because I think we put up a very young team it's the youngest team in the league and they have gone all the way to the final and I believe you are very optimistic Yes, that we may take it home Wow, thank you for coming through and sharing the vision you have for the sports with us this particular afternoon Ivy it's been glad having you I thought you would struggle little bit here pleasure having you this particular afternoon thank you Zedek under where you keep talking to us Ashdaa Touchline Y254 quite an interesting conversation coming up in not too long with one gentleman who has been doing a lotrafai Lobonyu is a public policy expert and he will be joining us in not too long to share what he thinks about sports development in the country don't go and stay tuned