LUANDA (FIBA Africa Championship) - The draw for the FIBA Africa Championship is to take place at the start of April.

Gustavo da Conceicao, chairman of host nation Angola’s Federation of Basketball (FAB), made the announcement at a press conference in Luanda, adding that he was counting on the presence of some as yet unnamed “stars” of the basketball world.

He also confirmed that the inaugural match for August’s tournament would be played in Luanda’s Cidadela stadium before taking the competition to the provinces.

Angola, who are also the reigning champions, will begin their preparations in Huila before departing for Europe to train.

It is the first time that Afrobasket will be played across five cities, and has also been expanded from 12 teams to 16.

Meanwhile, it has been confirmed that the four additional stadia designated to host the games will be completed in time.

Fernanda Pereira, architect for the Finance Ministry, explained that work, carried out by a Chinese construction firm, would start in April, and that the completed grounds would be handed over on July 31.

The courts are being built in the provinces of Huila, Cabinda, Benguela and Huambo and will cost around $45.5million (£23.3million) in total.

FIBA