BOITUMELO RANTAO
AFRICAN basketball powerhouses Senegal will not compete in the Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) hosted by the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) in Belgrade, Serbia.
The Senegalese camp, which was based in Germany for the duration of their camp, has reported several COVID-19 cases which caused several delays in their preparations. The team’s plans to travel to Serbia were eventually cancelled.
FIBA was informed by the National Federation of Senegal about COVID-19 related disruptions to their preparations in Germany.
Despite continuous efforts from FIBA and the German Basketball Federation to support the Senegalese delegation, the team will not be able to travel to Belgrade and take part in the OQT.
Senegal was scheduled to play Italy and Puerto Rico in Serbia with the top two progressing to the semifinals in the race to seal the four remaining spots at the Olympics among 12 other countries. They will forfeit both games against Italy and Puerto Rico.
Tunisia and Angola are among the nations fighting at the Qualifying Tournaments for one of the final four spots in this year’s edition of the Olympics in Tokyo.
Number one ranked African side Nigeria is the only African country that has secured a spot at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Countries Argentina, Australia, France, Iran, Nigeria, Spain and the United States qualified directly via the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2019. Japan qualified as the host of the Olympic Games.
