AfricaPress-Tanzania: CRDB Bank has announced a 50m/- financial sponsorship for best young basketball players who sparkled in the recently held Taifa Cup Basketball Championship.
One of the largest banks in the country, CRDB picked 26 best players during the Taifa Cup held in Dodoma in November, 2020.
CRDB promised to offer the sponsorship in a bid to acknowledge and promote the game in the country among youth.
Gracing the soft ceremony the Deputy Minister for Information, Culture, Arts and Sports, Abdallah Ulega commended CRDB support in its endeavour to upgrade sports, especially basketball, in the country.
The Deputy Minister said both public and private stakeholders should make efforts to improve the sports industry and set sustainable strategies to promote basketball talent from the grassroots level.
“Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) should put in place sustainable strategies to promote basketball talent from the grassroots level. “But let us also establish and develop basketball academy schools. We as the Ministry, are fully prepared to work with you (TBF and other stakeholders) to achieve the goal,” said Ulega.
CRDB Bank’s Director of Communications, Tully Mwambapa, said the scholarship for players is a continuation of the bank’s efforts to empower youth through sports.
“In recognition of this, the bank through its Corporate Social Investment [CSI] Policy considered it appropriate to include education and sports,” Mwambapa said.
The lender through its CSI Policy has been investing in youth sports believing that it assists to increase their participation in various development activities in the community.
The bank said it was led to sponsor basket ballers since the game was given less priority compared to other sports, thus discouraging many youngsters, despite their talents, to participate on the game.
“After a long process of assessing the potential shown by youth, as well as monitoring their academic information, we have successfully arrived at the conclusion that the 26 players met the committee criteria set for scholarship opportunities for 2020/2021,” Mwambapa said.
The TBF President, Phares Magesa thanked CRDB for continuing to invest in basketball, saying that the scholarship will go a long way in encouraging more young people to participate in the sport.
The CRDB Bank Taifa Cup tournament with the slogan “It’s More Than a Game, It’s Life” was launched on the 7th of October last year and was held with great success at Chinangali courts in Dodoma from 12 to 21 November last year.
