Aspiring instructors in FIBA Africa training camp

 

ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) – As part of a development plan for providing national federations with the tools they need to train their coaches, FIBA Africa hosted a training course for instructors from March 11-13 in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire.

The training was conducted by WABC experts, Senegalese Cheikh Sarr and Moroccan Nour Amri, who shared their knowledge with the 16 participants from all over Africa over the three days.

Other similar courses have been held in previous years. For instance, a similar course was conducted in 2021, welcoming 17 participants.

Cheikh Sarr

FIBA Africa has addressed the challenge of increasing the number of instructors within the national federations.

But the sport's governing body in Africa has decided to focus on quality rather than quantity.

"There has been a filter that has been applied to make sure we get the right candidates. It is our responsibility to give optimum training to the candidates," said coach Sarr.

He further insisted on the positive impact of training good instructors. "This is a noble mission that will have a positive impact on the development of basketball in Africa. Our responsibility is to train good instructors who will in turn train good coaches," he added.

Nour Amri

Back in their countries, the new instructors will have to ensure that a framework for coach training is set up within their respective national federations.

The aspiring instructors include some very well-known names in African basketball.

These include Yves Murenzi, who led Rwanda's men's team to its first-ever continental podium finish at the AfroCan in 2023, and Alfred Aboya, coach of the Cameroon national team, which qualified for the FIBA OQT and is also a coach at NBA Academy Africa.

Lazare Andingono, one of the participants, spoke of his sense of satisfaction at the end of the course. "It's a new experience and we felt a bit tense at first. But the instructors did everything they could to make us feel confident, by explaining to us, for example, the processes to which we would be subjected. They were able to prepare a plan so that we could pick up the information we needed," he said.

After the three-day training camp, the 16 aspiring instructors underwent an exam. The results will be published by next month.

List of candidates
Yacine Belal (Algeria)
Maamar Berriche (Algeria)
Lazare Adingono (Cameroon)
Bruno Darlan (Central African Republic)
Mohamed Mesbahi (Morocco)
Omar Nouhi (Morocco)
Tojo Rasamoelina (Madagascar)
Sami Bozid (Tunisia)
Olivier Tea (Cote d'Ivoire)
Ahmed Younous (Chad)
Louis Marie Tsoungui (Cameroon)
Aaron Kagabo (Burundi)
Yves Murenzi (Rwanda)
Mamé Issa Gueye (Senegal)
Joël Yoba (Cameroon)
Alfred Aboya (Cameroon)

FIBA