Chad basketball stars helping development in the country

Chad basketball development on the rise

JOHANNESBURG, April 8 (ANA) – Former Chad basketball players Asnal Noubaramadje and Issa Nakoye have launched a youth academy in N’Djamena, with the aim of growing the game in the Central African nation.

Noubaramadje, 36, and Nakoye, 30, were part of the Chad team which competed in the 2019 Basketball World African qualifiers.

The Dreams Come True Academy openedalmost two years ago, and according to Noubaramadje, the project continues to go grow with dozens of teenagers attending their training camps on a regular basis.

The former Chad basketball captain Noubaramadje told Fiba.basketball: “Our main goal is to give youngsters between the age of 6 to 18 the opportunity to learn the game of basketball, its modern technics, but, more importantly, they have a chance to stay in school.”

Dreams Come True Academy chairman Nakoye, said: “According to recent enthusiasm for the national basketball team through international competitions, basketball is the team sport that is experiencing the strongest growth among young people in our country.”

Ranked 18th in Africa, Chad have made considerable progress in recent times, although the country’s youth teams have become a no-show at Africa’s youth major tournaments for the last decade.

“We are hoping to produce players that can represent our youth national teams in the next three years,” Noubaramadje ensured.

“Our motto is “The game of basketball is a privilege, in order to practice/play it, you should have good grades in school,” the academy says.

Children as young as six have joined the project with many more expected to attend in future, according to the Dreams Come True Academy.

“We are encouraged by the youngsters’ enthusiasm and willingness to play the game, but some quit due to lack of modern infrastructures in our country,” Noubaramadje explained.

“As a poor country we have to build this kind of projects ourselves. We think that we can be our own change.” – African News Agency (ANA), Editing by Michael Sherman