Moussa Diarra, president of the Ivorian Basketball Federation (Fibb), was facing the press on Wednesday afternoon at the new headquarters of the umbrella organization. Three days after the end of the national championship (Golden League) which crowned the Abc for men and Fba for women, the boss of the Ivorian basketball was rather happy to have completed his first season at the head of the Fibb.
He also presented his expectations regarding the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) which will take place from July 2 to 7, in San Juan, in the Puerto Rican capital. A brief assessment of the 2023-2024 season allowed us to appreciate the work accomplished.
Moussa Diarra noted the good performance of the national championshipHe kept his campaign promise by granting a subsidy of between 5 and 10 million FCfa to the clubs of the Golden League (N1).
All teams received mineral water and, better still, it brought a major innovation with the advent of Video Assistance (Var) to offer fair competition to all teams.
An improvement that he would have liked to see continue until the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OTQ). Indeed, following in the footsteps of his predecessor, President Diarra mobilized all the country’s vital forces to raise the national colors higher in Puerto Rico.
Mo Bamba, the member player of the Sixters (Nba), Kevin Yebo (Niners Chemnitz of Germany) and Ismaël Kamagaté, former Espoir of France, came to reinforce the group. But these pivots who all revolve around 1.13 meters are not certain to set foot on the San Juan floor. Fiba, the international federation, changed the rules along the way.
As a result, players who received their Ivorian passport a few days ago will have to wait 45 days before officially donning the national jersey. Mo Bamba will therefore have to wait until August 3 to be able to defend Côte d’Ivoire. The same goes for young Ismaël Bamba, whom Fiba wants to classify in the category of naturalized Ivorian players. Which is not to the taste of President Diarra.
“Ismaël is Ivorian by father and mother. He was born in 2001, at the time when his two parents who immigrated to France had no French documents. We will fight to clarify this,” promises Moussa Diarra. Fiba wants to do the same for Kevin Yebo whose mother is German and his father Ivorian.
Meanwhile, Matt Costello, Alex Poythress and others are being desired. But the new strong man of the Fibb does not admit defeat. Without Mo Bamba, Yebo and Kamagate, the Elephants have always lived up to the people’s expectations. The Ivorian Basketball Federation’s Olympic campaign requires 319 million FCFA.
Moussa Diarra thanked the National Olympic Committee (NOC) and its president, Georges N’Goan, who provided significant support to the tune of 22 million FCfa. While waiting for the State to play its part.
Meanwhile, the national team in preparation since June 9 presents a record of two defeats (Belgium and Dominican Republic) in Belgium.
Arriving in Spain on Thursday June 27, 2024, she plays a final test match today against Portugal, before flying to Puerto Rico where she will start the tournament on July 3 against Lithuania.
If they win the tough Group A, the Elephants will have to beat the winner of Group B to secure their ticket to Paris 2024. Group B is made up of host country Puerto Rico, Italy and Bahrain.
2024-06-28 17:04:49
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