Amadou Fall of NBA-Africa Says Commitment Is To Raise Grassroots Potential 

Amadou Gallo Fall, the Executive Director, National Basketball Association — NBA-Africa — said he took to basketball by accident but wishes to prepare African potential players for the sport.

“I wish to reverse the story for the upcoming African potential players interested in the sport,” Fall told a news conference in Lagos on Monday.

According to him, since knowing that there are many benefits from the sport, he is now determined to change the story for many of the African youths, who can profit like him from the sport.

“I and many of my colleagues from different parts of Africa do not want the story to continue that way.

“We want many of the youth, particularly those of 7 feet and above, to be better prepared for the sport,” said Fall, who is managing the NBA office in Johannesburg.

“Our findings from playing in the NBA and college basketball in the U.S. have shown that the sport can unlock many opportunities for even those who could wish to take other calling in life”.

He explained that they set up the Johannesburg office in collaboration with the NBA to create platforms for the spread of the message of basketball in the continent.

“We are committed to creating opportunities for the development of the game at the grassroots, then eventually spread our dragnets for the development of talents for the NBA in the U.S.

“Since the platform also seeks to encourage the combining of sports and education, it then means that those unable to make the NBA could divert their talents to other areas of human endeavours.”

He said apart from South Africa that is hosting the office, they needed countries like Nigeria, Senegal, Angola and Kenya, where they could develop strong roots to achieve their objective.

The executive director said as part of an upcoming commitment, they intend to host Africa’s best against the world renown stars to be known as the Global team on Aug. 1 at the Ellis Park in South Africa.

Fall, from Senegal, is also founder of SEEDS Academy (Sports for Education and Economic Development) in Senegal.

He said that in the late 1980s, he was serendipitously discovered by a member of the Peace Corps, leading to a basketball scholarship in the U. S.

After graduating from the University of the District of Columbia with a B.S. in Biology, Fall went on to work for the Senegalese Basketball Federation.

There, he engaged in mentoring players and providing assistance to bring them to the U. S. to further their education.

Fall is now Vice President of Development for the NBA in Johannesburg, South Africa, where he leads the NBA’s efforts to develop and promote basketball in Africa.

He was invited to Nigeria by Dan Ngerem, the current chairman of the Dodan Warriors Basketball of Lagos.

Ngerem, also a Lagos-based sports marketing consultant, said they were still discussing in order to explore how best to leverage a relationship with NBA-Africa.

“We have a population in excess of 170 million people, with youths accounting for upward 60 per cent of the population. We need to think and plan for them to avoid human catastrophe in future,” he said.

Sam Ahmedu, the President of Zone 3, Basketball, in response to a reporter’s question about his relationship with the Nigeria Basketball Federation (NBBF), said they had good official relationship.

“We are not quarreling, but we do not have to agree on all issues.

“I was with Tijani Umar, the president of NBBF in Cote d’ Ivoire recently and we ate from the same plate,” he said.

Source: Vanguard Ngr