Basketball fans in Kenya are excited about the prospect of the Kenya Basketball Premier league could be televised live in supersport.

This is indeed a momentous occasion for the sport in Kenya if it comes to pass. Basketball has a strong group of core followers who regularly attend matches and pack the Nyayo stadium gymnasium. However the sport has yet to capture the attention of the general public, most of whom are ambivalent.

This is therefore a glorious opportunity for the Kenya Basketball Federation to spread the gospel of Kenya basketball to the public at large. It is an opportunity for the KBF to package the sport in such a way that not only will it attract public support, but also attract sponsorship.

However it is also true that a league full of corporate based teams like Kenya Airways and Cooperative bank will struggle to keep public attention. Regional or community teams are the best recipe for success. The most successful leagues across the world are those where each region or each town is represented by a team. It is also true however that due to financial constraints, is is very difficult for community based teams to flourish. That does not mean that KBF should give up.

Bolster Community teams

The Annual intercity basketball tournament that pits various East African cities against each other represents the best opportunity to create a league that can attract an enormous amount of public interest and create large ratings. Nairobi alone should have 3 or 4 teams each representing the three largest constituencies in the city.

In the past Nairobi had two teams both representing the city. So which one should Nairobians support ? Both ? That does not make any sense. What makes sense is for Nairobians to root for a team that represents their section of Nairobi.

The rest of the teams could be teams representing the major towns in the country : Mombasa, Kisumu, Nakuru and possibly also teams from Kampala, Kigali and Dar es Salaam.

A tournament like this will create a fanatical following for the various teams because fans will find it much easier to root for a team that represents

Supersport can inject money directly into these teams or pay for their transportation and accommodation. It is in their best interest to have community teams succeed because a tournament that draws public interest leads to high television ratings which is precisely what Supersport wants.