Afrobasket electrifies Kigali's sports scene

By Moses K. Gahigi

Kigali's sports and entertainment scene came back to life in August, with the start of Afrobasket — the biggest basketball event for national teams on the continent.

The two week tournament started off on August 24 at the Kigali Arena, in a game that saw Rwanda beat DR Congo 82:68. The atmosphere in the arena was a tad muted compared with how electric basketball events used to be before the pandemic, but at least people are back to watching games and cheering for their teams.

It is a must for Rwandans attending the event to present their Covid-19 vaccination certificates, which of course has kept many away since most people are still not vaccinated. But, the country started vaccinating 18-years-olds, which helped increase the number of attendees.

The first game saw participants in their thousands, including sports loving President Paul Kagame. The cheers were more muffled, probably because every attendee had on a face mask and there was social distancing.

The atmosphere pales in comparison with sporting arenas in Europe and the US, where fans attend basketball, tennis and football events mask-free and without socially distancing, drinking beer, hugging and celebrating with total abandon.

However, sport events have returned to normal in Europe and the US because their governments had financial muscle to purchase vaccines very early on, and had their citizens vaccinated in big numbers.

This article originally appeared in The East African.

Photo: Cyril Ndegeya