Ghana Basketball in recent years and months has seen growth in terms of participation, interest, presence, and support locally and globally.
The recent growth I believe started when the 2011 Ghana Women's National Team made their first appearance in the Afro basket women's Tournament which is the Africa's premier women's basketball championship. Even with the not so impressive performance of the women's team in Mali, Ghana managed to get ranked in the world of basketball for the first time in its history placing 73rd. The Ghanaian team was made up of some of the best players in the country who play in the not so competitive women's league in Accra which has over the years been dominated by a single team. The Ghana Basketball Association worked hard to bring down some of Ghana's best talents abroad in the US but was met with great financial challenges that left the federation with no choice but to stick with its local inexperienced talents. The positive side of the effort was the response of the various Ghanaian talents abroad who are very keen on helping Ghana Basketball in the coming years.
In 2012 The under 18 boys followed through with the women's continental breakthrough in 2011 as they managed to gain a wild card to participate in Ghana's first U18 Afrobasket Championship in Maputo, Mozambique amidst the many familiar challenges. The team did take the national team performance on the African stage two steps forward by placing 9th in the tournament as against the women's 12th position in Mali a year before. All the players were again local with decent competitive talent that gave some of them attention during the tournament.
The above national teams' mission on the African continent did bring about some local impact, especially with cooperate financial support. With the Ghana National Sports Authority's neglect towards the national basketball teams, it was cooperate Ghana which came to the aid of the National Teams. Companies like Newmont, MTN, and Vodafone Ghana assisted the Ghana Basketball Association financially to enable the teams travel to participate on the African continent. The financial support received by the Ghana Basketball Association from cooperate Ghana within the period of September 2011 - August 2012 will total over 45,000 Ghana cedis/$22,000 which we all know can be equivalent to the pay and bonus of a single football player on the national soccer team the Black Stars in recent times. This amount is the biggest financial support ever received by the Ghana Basketball Association in recent times. This sure is a good sign of the potential of attracting bigger and better support in the future if the national teams continue to qualify for big African Championships.
On the managerial side of things both national team did get some assistance from foreign coaches who did make an impact on the teams' performance one way or the other. The biggest challenge faced by the Ghana Basketball Association in both missions was the absence of a structured and efficient national team programme which later resulted in various managerial and player issues which still haunts the federation.
Amidst the federations many challenges Ghana Basketball is showing signs of a positive future, but will take a lot more commitment, intelligence, and continuity to clear the vision of the future of Ghana Basketball. In the Part 2 of Bright Blurry Positive Future we will highlight how efforts of local individuals and organisations are adding up to the local and international growth and presence of Ghana Basketball.
