Luanda - The Zone VI qualifiers for Afrobasket'2025 for senior women, to be held in Luanda on February 3 and 4 will be marked by unjustified absences.
On the eve of the start of the competition, only Mozambique confirmed their presence, while South Africa, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Eswatini, Zambia and Botswana withdrew without justification.
Speaking to the press on Thursday, the competition director of the Angolan Basketball Federation (FAB), Tony Sofrimento, explained that he had not received any communication from the respective absentees and that these national teams had not registered on the FIBA Africa platform.
Sofrimento said the governing body of the sport on the continent had issued the necessary documents for all teams to register and participate in the first qualifying tournament in Luanda.
"The behavior of these countries has nothing to do with economic issues, I think they are social," Sofrimento said.
Sofrimento explained that the duration of the event, originally scheduled from February 2 to 10, was shortened to two days, although the Luanda pavilion was maintained as the stage for the games from 6 pm.
With these absences, only Angola and Mozambique will participate in this year's Afrobasket qualifiers to take place in Côte d'Ivoire.
The Mozambican team is expected to arrive in the Angolan capital on Sunday.
The FAB director assured that all the conditions are in place for the Angolan team, with the two teams staying at the "Hotel Zombo", near the Cidadela complex.
Tony Sofrimento reported that restoration work began on Thursday in some areas of the pavilion that will host the tournament, citing as an example the removal of carpet, checking of boxes, timing, improvement of the conference and locker rooms.
He said that the goal of the organization is for the pavilion to have a good public presence, and to achieve this goal, the entrances will be free. IN/MC/AMP