The Federation of Uganda Basketball Association (FUBA) will host the FIBA 3×3 Africa Youth Nations League from August 5th-11th, 2024, at the Lugogo Hockey Pitch in Kampala.
The Youth Nations League serves as the only qualification pathway to the U23 World Cup, scheduled for September 2024 in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, a month after the Uganda qualifiers.
Hamza Nyambogo Mnemo, the Director of 3×3 format at FUBA and Chairman of the Organizing Committee for the event, announced that Uganda will compete against South Africa, Algeria, Central African Republic, Burkina Faso, and Benin.
“The Youth Nations League is organized in ‘Stops’ of sextuples, each consisting of six competition days or mini-tournaments held in one place. The U23 World Cup is the highest level of competition for 3×3, providing a crucial platform for players and National Federations to gain exposure to high-level international competition,” said Mnemo.
Twenty countries (20 men’s and 20 women’s teams) will make up the final group participating in the U23 World Cup.
Participants from other FIBA jurisdictions in Asia, Europe, and the Americas also qualify for the World Cup through their respective Youth Nations Leagues. Only countries participating in these sextuples have a chance to qualify for the U23 World Cup.
“The winners of each conference (sextuple) get automatic qualification to the U23 World Cup. The host national federation (Mongolia for both men and women) also automatically qualifies, along with the reigning champions (USA men and Netherlands women),” Mnemo added.
To complete the final 20 qualifying teams per gender, other participating countries must secure high-ranking positions in the Nations League 2024 final standings after all the games at various conferences have been played.
FIBA believes the Youth Nations League offers a necessary platform to regularly expose players and national federations to high-level international competition, serving as qualifiers for the annual World Cup.
“Ugandans should come in large numbers to cheer on the boys and girls as they seek qualification for the World Cup,” urged Nasser Sserunjogi, President of FUBA.
Entrance fees are set at UGX 10,000 for ordinary tickets and UGX 25,000 for VIP tickets.
The event is organized by FUBA, with Hamza Mnemo, one of the most experienced FIBA 3×3 Technical officials on the continent, leading the organizing committee.
