AfricaPress-Tanzania: THE 2020 Giant Of Africa (GOA), basketball camp that scheduled for Kigali Rwanda has been cancelled.
The GOA camp expected to bring together over 200 youth from Tanzania, Nigeria, Senegal, Cameroon, Mali, Kenya, Uganda, DRC, South Sudan, Somalia and host Rwanda was meant to highlight and celebrate each country’s unique culture and tradition.
The festival was also to include a Dream Big Leadership Series, which would focus on education and female empowerment.
According to the organisers, the Toronto Raptors’ President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO), Masai Ujiri, the outbreak of Covid-19 and the need for social distancing forced the organizers to postpone the camp.
The organisers added the camp was which was earlier scheduled to start from August 16th to 22nd this year, has now pushed forward to the same date and venue in 2021.
Ujiri added this year’s week-long celebration focused on the youth, basketball, empowerment and education.
Ujiri said the series feature conversations with industry leaders from around the world were planned aiming to inspire the youth to think big, be innovative, build confidence and become leaders in their own communities.
Rwandan President Paul Kagame then added: “Whether it is in sports, culture, entertainment and many other things, “we find a pathway for our young people to grow and become giants where they should be.”
“To young people when you are talking about Giants of Africa and the festival we are going to have here, it’s a reminder first of all that you young people are giants in the making,” he said.
It is camp that Ujiri organised annual in different African countries.
The same camp was also held in Tanzania in 2019 whereas over 65 Tanzania youth joined others at the training conducted in Dar es Salaam, being a campaign by Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF), to bring in the event in the country for the first time.
Before coming to Tanzania several youth including a promising star, Atiki Ally participated in the camps pitched outside the country and benefited a lot.
Ally is currently a star player at London Basketball Academy in Ontario, Canada. He secured the scholarship in 2017.
