BUZ to set up national league

THE Basketball Union of Zimbabwe (BUZ) plans to set up a national league in the next two years. The proposed top flight league, which is expected to improve the game and enable it to be more glamorous than what it is today, will replace provincial leagues.

BUZ president, Addison Chiware told the Financial Gazette Sport yesterday that his association had already engaged partners to help in with the rolling out of the proposed league. He believes the new league would be successful. “We have finished the research and planning phase (for the men and women leagues) and we have engaged partners who will help us rollout a sustainable national league programme in the next 24 months,” said Chiware who is in his second four-year term.

“By establishing a national league, we are looking at the next level of development. We want to make sure that the next generation of players can make a living out of basketball. We need to break into other revenue streams by attracting the corporate world. We want something to be taken up by the business community which is something not happening at the moment. So if we go national the level of commitment will be different.”

Chiware also revealed that efforts will be made to encourage grassroots development in the country. “We will also assist junior development by expanding our involvement in the primary/junior schools and tertiary institutions.”

The current basketball structure is that provincial leagues play their season and the teams placed in the top half of the final log standings would qualify to play in the BUZ national championships (BUZNC) to crown the national champion.

In the last BUZNC, the top men’s teams were Cameo, Raiders, Mavericks, Unicorns, Oilers, Highlanders, JBC, and Hustlers.

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