Basketball: Row brews over Friday Night Lites

Basketball governing body FUBA have given the green light to Lites Up.

Friday Night Lights (FNL) are promising a legal response to the blackout.

"We don't want to go to court but that is what we will do if the situation doesn't change," said FNL's Tom Ocyamuringa in an interview with New Vision Sport on Monday.

"Our legal is handling the matter now and they have written a letter to FUBA."

Following a breakup in the partnership that successfully delivered FNL over the last five years, sport governing body FUBA chose to sanction the breakaway Lites Up event instead of FNL to open the 2016 basketball season.

The verdict came after last week's meeting between officials from the three parties, with FUBA's subsequent statement reasoning that, "Having two competing events of the similar nature running concurrently is not healthy for the image and brand of our game".

The statement, signed by FUBA vice president administration and professional lawyer Nasser Sserunjogi explained that Lites Up has been given the selected because it was a property of Kinetic Management Group, who FUBA "have always dealt with in all official communications regarding these events as opposed to FNL as a company".

The statement adds that "KMG has a sponsor for Lites Up (Castle Lite) whereas FNL is still in negotiations with a sponsor and that FNL can still go ahead with their event next year if they so wish with permission of FUBA".

The basketball body had hoped that the statement would mark the end of the dispute but it has not.

"I don't understand why you would kill a product that has been successful for five years," wondered Ocyamuringa. "But our preparations are going ahead and we hope to have the event this year because FNL had already been included on the FUBA calendar".

Lites Up is due to start soon.