Uganda Silverbacks withdraw from the FIBA World Cup Qualifiers because of a lack of funds.

FIBA World Cup Qualifiers
Group A: Nigeria, Mali, Cape Verde & Uganda
(Uganda withdraws from qualifiers)

Local basketball governing body FUBA has officially confirmed that national men’s basketball team Uganda Silverbacks will not participate in the 2023 World Cup Qualifiers after failure to secure funding from the government.

A statement from FUBA president Nasser Sserunjogi moments ago said, ‘FUBA wishes to inform you that the Senior Men’s National Basketball team (The Silverbacks) will not compete at the FIBA World Cup qualifiers – Window 1 in Benguela (Angola) from 26th to 28th of November 2021.

‘FUBA was informed by the Government of Uganda, through the National Council of Sports (NCS) that there was no money to support the team for this particular campaign. The team needed approximately UGX 380 Million to make this trip’.

Uganda was to take on Mali, Cape Verde, and Nigeria in Angola, games which the Silverbacks believed they had a good chance of winning.

But a last-ditch meeting between State Minister for Sports Hamson Obua and FUBA president Nasser Sserunjogi that was scheduled for today morning didn’t materialize because of Obua’s unavailability.

As a result, FUBA felt the only solution was to withdraw the Silverbacks from the qualifiers, a decision that will attract a hefty fine from the Africa basketball body FIBA Africa.

But on a sadder note, it is a decision that could be the beginning of the end of the golden era of Ugandan basketball.

Uganda finished sixth at the African championship in September. It was the greatest moment in Ugandan basketball history.

Who would have known the end was coming.