Taifa Cup Basketball tourney lines 28 teams

DODOMA: THE draw for the CRDB Bank Taifa Cup Basketball competition occurred in Dar es Salaam yesterday, featuring 28 men and women’s teams for the annual event.

The competition is scheduled from 19th to 29th June at Capital City Dodoma.

The Tanzania Basketball Federation (TBF) President, Michael Kadebe, mentioned that the preparation is in full swing for the event to return at Chinangali Ground in Dodoma.

The draw, supervised by federation secretary general, Mwenze Kabinda with live broadcast by Azam TV, revealed that the defending men’s champions, Dar es Salaam, will face Mara, Unguja and Iringa in Group A.

The men’s Group B will see Mwanza, Tabora, Mtwara and Rukwa competing. In Group B, Arusha will compete with Kilimanjaro, CRDB Youth and Shinyanga, while Group D will witness Dodoma hosting Kigoma, Manyara and Morogoro.

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The women’s teams, divided into three groups of four teams each, will have Unguja, Iringa, Mbeya and Arusha in Group A. In Group B, hosts Dodoma will face Kigoma, Mwanza, and CRDB Youth.

The defending women’s champions, Dar es Salaam, will start their campaign in Group C against Morogoro, Tanga and Mara. Kabinda explained that the CRDB Youths teams are sponsored by CRDB Bank, the main sponsor of the tournament, as part of their corporate social responsibility, providing academic and sports development support to the players.

TBF President Kadebe welcomed fans to cheer for the teams and make the tournament a success, emphasising that the competition presents an opportunity for players to showcase their talent for both individual recognition and future national team selection.

Kadebe also requested regional stakeholders, authorities and members of Parliament to support the teams from their respective regions, to ensure smooth participation and promote their regions effectively.

“This is one of the most important competitions at the national level, aimed to discover talented players for national teams,” commented Kadebe.

Kabinda added that they anticipate strong competition, especially on the women’s side, in this year’s event.