Use skills to conquer the globe, Ujiri tells youth

Masai Ujiri, president of NBA team Toronto Raptors, has challenged Kenyan youth to not only aim at being the best in Africa but to also use their talents to conquer the world.

The renowned Toronto Raptors executive who doubles up as president of Giants of Africa Foundation spoke Thursday while unveiling a state-of-the-art basketball court at the St John’s Catholic Primary School in Korogocho, Nairobi.

“Everyone can become a giant but the youth will lead the next movement of success in Africa,” explained Ujiri who is born to a Nigerian father and Kenyan mother.

The basketball court is among 100 that will be constructed in Africa by the foundation to creating opportunity for youth to thrive through sports. Ten of the basketball courts will be in Kenya and will mainly be used by young players.

“Since we began investing in the future of sports in Africa over the last two decades, it became clear that camps and programming were not enough to create long-term opportunities for growth in sports,” said Ujiri.

Nairobi Senator Johnson Sakaja, Kenya Basketball Federation (KBF) chairman Paul Otula and his assistant Hilmi Ali were among those in attendance.

Otula embraced the investment, terming it a step in the right direction towards developing the game in the country while Ali stressed the need to train and nurture more youngsters as a way of fighting radicalisation and drug abuse at the Kenyan coast.

“Our national teams have excelled in the last year. The men and women’s teams have competed at the continental championships and such investments will improve our standards,” noted Otula.

Sakaja promised to mobilise resources as well as to champion change in policy to ensure the government constructs more basketball courts in each estate within the capital in the next five years.

In a related development, Masai has described Africa as the continent with the most sporting talent in the world.

He spoke during a chat hosted at the Capital Club East Africa in Nairobi on Wednesday night.

“No offence to China and India, but Africa is number one when it comes to natural sports talent. What we lack is the infrastructure. And sports has become an incredible business so we have to teach and train these kids. That is why we are interested in places like Korogocho.”

Ujiri, who began his career as a sports manager as a scout, co-founded GOA with aspirations to leverage basketball as a vessel for young boys and girls to dream big and visualize opportunities for their future in Africa and around the world.

In 2003, Ujiri co-founded Giants of Africa, an organisation which uses sport as a tool to enrich the lives of youth in Africa, and create opportunities for them on and off the court. Ujiri’s ethos is  “Dream Big.”

GOA connects with youth (boys and girls) in more than 17 African countries and territories.