Senegal: Opening of the first NBA Academy facility in Africa
The National Basketball Association opened a new training centre in Saly, Senegal, on Monday November 26, where it hopes to develop a new generation of African players.
The “elite training center” in Africa in Senegal will train the continent’s most promising youngsters. The center ”will be the primary training location for NBA Academy Africa prospects from across the continent.
The centre features two indoor courts and a weight room in addition to dormitories and educational facilities. It will be the primary training location for male and female prospects from across the continent, the league said.
“We are thrilled to open this world class new venue in Saly for NBA Academy Africa prospects,” said Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA’s vice president and managing director for Africa.
“This facility will provide aspiring players from across the continent with state-of-the-art courts and training equipment, under the tutelage of our NBA coaches and our world class academic staff,” he said.
The NBA Academy Africa is managed in partnership with the SEED Project (Sports for Education and Economic Development), a non-profit organisation (founded in 1998 by Amadou Fall), that uses basketball to engage youth in academic, athletic and leadership programs.
Youngsters at the center we hope will follow in the footsteps of Senegalese native Gorgui Dieng, who is an alumnus of the SEED Project, and went on to land a mammoth $64 million deal with the Minnesota Timberwolves in 2016.
The grand hope for trainees will be ending up on multi-million dollar contracts in NBA teams, like Gorgui Dieng at Minnesota Timberwolves, or even DR Congo’s Bismack Biyombo Sumba at the Charlotte Hornets.
We really hope that this center will offer the best platform for discovery for this African players !
