TheCable

Giants of Africa, a foundation dedicated to enriching the lives of African youth through sports, has launched four new basketball courts in Lagos.

The courts, launched on Tuesday, is a continuation of the ‘Built Within’ initiative – the foundation’s multi-year, 100-court commitment that aims to investing in sports infrastructure across Africa.

It is understood the development makes it a total of 20 courts launched across Kenya, Tanzania, Nigeria, Burkina Faso, Ivory Coast, Rwanda, Democratic Republic of Congo and Senegal since September 2021.

Commenting on the initiative, Masai Ujiri, co-founder of the foundation, said: “There is so much talent in Nigeria. After unveiling our initial courts here in Lagos under the ‘Built Within’ initiative last year, we knew we would be back.

“We continue to be inspired by the youth as well as the communities that are committed to moving Africa forward through sports.”

Ujiri said although basketball courts were the heart of the ‘Built Within’ initiative, it also aimed to provide valuable life skills to empower the youth while creating stronger communities and job opportunities on and off the court.

“Our goal is to bring social transformation, education and enrichment to the lives of children across the continent and we want Africa’s youth to dream big, believing that anything is possible,” he added.

The unveiling ceremony includes a basketball clinic for 50 boys and girls conducted by local and NBA Giants of Africa coaches, a life skills session, as well as entertainment.

Ujiri is the first and only African-born president of a professional sports franchise in North America, the National Basketball Association’s Toronto Raptors.

He led the Raptors to their first-ever NBA Championship and the first NBA Championship won by a team outside the United States in NBA history in 2019.