Mwale basks in Zambia's U18 AfroBasket qualification, calls for more to be done in terms scouting

 

LUSAKA (Zambia) - For Paul Mwale and Zambian basketball, the recent success of the U18 men's and women's teams in qualifying for the 2024 FIBA U18 AfroBasket tournaments in South Africa (touted for August) is a sign that the work done on the ground has borne fruit.

The last time a Zambian team participated in the AfroBasket was in 1989, so having both teams participate in a junior international competition is a justifiable cause for celebration.

Mwale, the men's U18 team coach, guided his team past neighbours Zimbabwe in a two-legged U18 AfroBasket qualifier last weekend, spoke with pride about the results and feels Zambia is on an upward curve.

"For Zambian basketball, this is an achievement (qualifying for the U18 AfroBasket). We have been working tirelessly on our grassroots basketball. Over the past couple of years, it's been evident we have been doing the right things to get our program up there," said Mwale in an interview with FIBA.basketball.

"We are moving in the right direction. These results will encourage many of the coaches who have been working with these kids at the grassroots level. It says to the coaches that they are making progress also they will want to do better."

Despite Zambia's success, Mwale hopes the scouting networks will improve so more players can access playing opportunities. He says his men's team mainly comprised players from two parts of the country, meaning other players did not get a look in.

"We came together around January. It has been a challenge to put teams together as basketball is not well supported at the national level. If you look at my under-18 team, most of them come from the Midlands, and only one comes from the Copperbelt (region), which tells you have not done much in terms of scouting," said Mwale.

"We probably missed out on a lot of talent because of lack of capacity to scout talented players in other parts of the country - which is an unfair situation for most kids out there who probably have the skill set to play for the national team.

"Having said that, we are hoping for the best going forward in terms of getting support from the government and the national federation to assist us in addressing the issue of proper scouting."

Mwale turned his attention to the tournament, which will see Zambia compete against reigning champions Egypt, Madagascar, Angola, Mali and Uganda, who stamped their ticket last month in the Zone 5 qualifiers.

Mwale was firm that Zambia, while making its debut at this level, can punch above their weight.

"We are not going to this competition just to participate... We want to compete! I know some of these countries have been there before and have the experience, but we will not sit back and say we are here to participate," said Mwale. "Of course, there is learning that we will do about what some of these countries are doing right in their grassroots basketball, as they consistently qualify for these tournaments."

Mwale continued: "There is a lot a country like Zambia can learn from countries like Angola, Egypt and Uganda. They have been there (AfroBasket) a number of times, so what are they doing in their grassroots programs that we can replicate so we can be on a similar competitive level?"

The building blocks are in place for Zambia and the hope is that the momentum keeps going for future generations to benefit from this inspiring achievement.

FIBA