Burundi’s Dynamo forfeit Basketball Africa game due to ‘Visit Rwanda’ logo

Burundi's Dynamo BBC have forfeited their game against Morocco's FUS Rabat at Pretoria's SunBet Arena on Sunday after refusing to comply with the Basketball League Africa’s (BAL) rules governing jersey and uniform requirements.

This was announced via a statement by BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall on Sunday, only hours before the third match of the conference was due to start.

In their first Kalahari conference game against Cape Town Tigers on Saturday, Dynamo covered the “Visit Rwanda” sponsor's logo on their uniforms with black tape.

This was apparently due to the political tension between Rwanda and Burundi.

Earlier this year, Burundi closed its border with Rwanda after accusing Kigali of backing Burundian insurgents operating in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Burundi president Evariste Ndayishimiye accused Rwanda of backing the Red-Tabara rebel group, a charge Rwanda denies.

The rebel group waged a war against Burundi's government in 2015.

The other teams in the group, Petro de Luanda, Cape Town Tigers and FUS Rabat had the logo clearly displayed on their apparel.

BAL and the Rwanda Development Board (RDB) are in a partnership to showcase the country as a tourism and investment destination and highlight Africa’s growing sports industry.

Rwanda hosted the BAL playoff and final in 2023 and are scheduled to do so again in the 2024 edition.

The Dynamo-FUS Rabat game was scheduled to tip off at 4pm and was to be the curtain-raiser for the Cape Town Tigers' match against Petro de Luanda game at 7pm.

It is unclear whether Dynamo will arrive for their next game against Petro de Luanda on Tuesday.