ABIDJAN - FIBA Africa has come out and indicated it is not giving its approval to a project undertaken by the African Basketball League (ABL).

Earlier this month, the organisation began setting up a so-called professional competition that would have consisted of six teams from Cote d'Ivoire (1), Gabon (1), Nigeria (3) and Senegal (1).

FIBA Africa held meetings with the ABL but could not reach an agreement and accordingly did not give its approval for the competition to launch, even as a "test run".

The reasons leading to FIBA Africa's rejection of the project included:
- By agreeing to play in the ABL, the teams would then not be able to play in the domestic league of their respective countries;
- Any other teams apart from those selected by the ABL are not allowed to feature in its competition;
- FIBA Africa did not receive any documents from the ABL explaining its project;
- The ABL needs approval from the national federations (Cote d'Ivoire, Gabon, Nigeria and Senegal) of the teams in question as the games should be played in those countries and FIBA Africa has not yet received any official position to this effect.

FIBA Africa confirmed it is open and available to team up with any organisation eager to contribute in the development of basketball in Africa, so long as this is done in line with FIBA's regulations and statutes.

FIBA