FUBA keen to support University League

By Charles Mutebi 

THE newly-formed Zuku University Basketball League (ZUBL) is an answered prayer in many ways. 

For now, it is also a source of contention within university body NUSFU, with certain major institutions opting to stay away from the tournament. 

Today at Lugogo, basketball governing body FUBA and NUSFU are scheduled to hold talks about creating a successful debut season for the ZUBL, although discussions about the abstaining universities may not crop up. 

“That (the withdrawals of KIU and Nkumba) is not yet our concern because we don’t have all the details surrounding the divisions,” said FUBA boss Ambrose Tashobya. 

“This meeting is about looking at our partnership with NUSFU and talking about how we can make the university league successful.” 

The ZUBL tipped-off on Saturday at Makerere but the start was somewhat overshadowed by the withdrawal from the tournament of KIU and Nkumba, two of the best universities in local basketball. 

KIU and Nkumba favoured taking part in a league with another as-of-yet unknown sponsor, whom they say was offering a better package to universities. But their choice was overruled in a NUSFU executive poll, prompting them to pull out of the ZUBL. 

But this meeting has been set up to sort out technicalities like the age limit of players in the university league and match schedule. But it goes without saying that a healthy ZUBL needs all the strong universities involved.