Basketball: Ujiri, Zaria court and other matters

For one week in July this year, the Amahoro National Stadium, Kigali, Rwanda, will be a beehive as former basketballer, Masai Ujiri, focuses world attention on the eastern African country as his NGO, Giants of Africa, launches Zaria Court that would be a new mixed-use sports, entertainment and cultural district.

Findings indicate that the courts, although practically for the sole purpose of basketball, would also comprise an 80-room hotel, sports bar, event space, retail outlets, gym, five-a-side football pitch, and outdoor public areas.

Ujiri, who is currently Vice-Chairman and President of the Toronto Raptors, seems to have found a nest in Rwanda where he has invested a fortune in changing the lives of youths across Africa. But his personal relationship with Rwandan President, Mr. Paul Kagame, has accelerated his settling in there. It is also not impossible that the tranquil nature of Rwanda for investors, as well as its renowned status as a tourism haven, had also informed his choice of the country to site the gigantic project. Nevertheless, naming the soon-to-be-unveiled court Zaria, after an ancient town in northern Nigeria, brings to the fore Ujiri’s deep connection to his Nigerian roots, born of a Nigerian father and a Kenyan mother.

The NGO has since 2003 staged an annual festival in the Rwandan capital that pooled several thousands of youths from different countries in Africa, comprising Nigeria, Senegal, Nigeria, Cameroon, Mali, Cote d’Ivoire, Ghana, Burkina Faso, Benin, Gabon, Rwanda, Kenya, Uganda, South Sudan, Tanzania, D.R. Congo, Somalia, Ethiopia, Morocco, Botswana, and South Africa.

For Ujiri, it is always a window of opportunity to be opened for the youths to explore with a view to safeguarding their future. The 2025 event will bring together 320 young basketballers from 20 African countries and more than 20,000 spectators for a week of community, culture, basketball, education, and entertainment, all aimed at uniting communities, sparking potential, and driving transformative change for the overall benefit of Africa.

Ujiri said: “Like these kids, I grew up in Africa and as an African, I know the landscape of what the kids go through. I know they dream just like I did, and it really inspires me because the kids have so much more talent and intelligence, and they know ways to communicate now that I didn’t know. I want to use this festival to let them know that there is a path and that I want them to never stop dreaming.”

There is a professional angle to the event as the NGO will have the NBA/WNBA coaches and personnel lead training sessions, although coaches from the participating countries will also provide assistance. A round-robin tournament will however, determine which countries and players will compete in the festival’s championship and all-star games.

As the weeklong festival begins on July 26, the entertainment aspect would come to the fore immediately, with top Nigerian artistes Kizz Daniel and Timaya listed among the several African entertainers that would electrify the Amahoro arena. South African international DJ, Uncle Waffles, is also listed, in addition to MTV Video Music Award-winning choreographer, Sherrie Silver, and Rwandan singer and songwriter, Kevin Kade.

Former African Footballer of the Year and Chelsea and Ivorian legend, Didier Drogba, will be among the celebrity guests who will inspire the youths throughout the festival. Others are Chris Tucker, Candace Parker, Robin Roberts, Chiney Ogwumike, Michael Blackson and Boris Kodjoe, even as there could be more volunteers among African celebrities willing to partake in the event for the sake of the youths.

Since its inception at the turn of this millennium, Giants of Africa has empowered youth through basketball, hosting camps and building courts across 20 African countries. The foundation not only teaches game fundamentals but also connects young people with inspirational mentors who show how determination, leadership and integrity can transform dreams into reality, in addition to deploying basketball’s unique power to transcend barriers and unite diverse communities.

In this year’s event, the NGO will also present its inaugural Threads of Africa Fashion Show, celebrating culture, fashion and design from across Africa. It will spotlight the work of three talented fashion designers, each from a different region of the continent. Cameroon’s Hortense Mbea (Afropian), Niger’s Alia Baré (Alia) and Rwanda and South Africa’s Nyambo (Masa Mara) will each present their new collections after coming together for a moderated discussion.

The International Youth Day Forum, presented in partnership with the Imbuto Foundation, Ministry of Youth and Arts and ALX, will also feature, bringing together over 2,000 Rwandan youth and festival campers to hear from esteemed leaders, while the Women’s Community Outreach Programme will take place in Rwanda and across all 20 represented countries, offering leadership and education sessions in local communities to empower women and girls with knowledge, resources, and inspiration.

Interestingly, the maiden festival took place in Kigali in 2023 in celebration of the NGO’s 20th anniversary, the event uniting over 250 youth basketball players from 16 African nations, attracting over 14,000 spectators and raking in an estimated $1.5 million invested into Kigali’s local economy. Nigerian afrobeats stars Davido and Tiwa Savage performed alongside Rwanda’s Bruce Melodie and South African Tyla.