WNBA legend Fowles happy with strides women’s basketball making in Africa

Decorated US basketball legend Sylvia Fowles knows a thing or two about women’s basketball around the world, so when she speaks, people tend to listen.

The 38-year-old from Miami, who is in South Africa for the 20th Basketball Without Borders (BWB) Africa camp which started on Saturday and ends on Tuesday, has walked every path in her 18-year career as a college and professional women’s basketball player.

From winning four Olympic gold medals (2008, 2012, 2016 and Tokyo 2020) with the US, the Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) championship twice and playing in Europe and Asia, she has seen the struggles women have endured to be successful.

She has noticed changes since she started at Louisiana State University Tigers women’s basketball team in 2004 in commercial growth, development, added nationalities and broadening of skill sets. With the continual evolution and expansion of basketball in Africa each year, FIBA Africa president Anibal Aurelio Manave recently prioritised the advancement of the women’s game.

The Africa Women’s Basketball League is the premier club league for women’s teams on the continent and includes a limited number of nations. The latest tournament in Egypt in 2023 featured club teams from the host country, Nigeria, Angola, Cameroon, DRC, Benin, Kenya and Rwanda, all of which earned their spots through tournaments held in FIBA Africa zones.

Manave pointed out that few countries boasted a robust women’s basketball league, hindering their attempts to establish a system comparable to the men’s Basketball Africa League.

South Africa is one of the nations still establishing itself in women’s basketball. Manave emphasised they would ensure that African basketball nations had high-quality infrastructure and that teams received competitive salaries.

At the time, he said in the future they would want to implement something similar to what the National Basketball was doing for its women. According to US top sports publications, the NBA provides the WNBA with an annual endowment of more than $15m  (R278.5m).

This financial support helps cover various operating costs for WNBA teams, including facilities, travel, marketing and administration. As of 2023, the NBA owns 50% of the WNBA, with the 12 WNBA teams owning the other 50%. This shared ownership underscores the NBA’s commitment to women’s basketball.

It is now going in the right direction in Africa and the world. The young women get the attention and exposure they need from the officials. I hear in South Africa there is a lot of talent as well which will be interesting to see in the coming years.

—  Sylvia Fowles

“Women’s basketball is a big buzz now,” Fowles said. “It has always been, but for some odd reason, we are only now getting the attention we should have got years ago.

“It is now going in the right direction in Africa and the world. The young women get the attention and exposure they need from the officials. I hear in South Africa there is a lot of talent as well which will be interesting to see in the coming years.”

Since hanging up her boots in 2018, Fowles has been passing on her knowledge to the next generation. That is what she is doing at the American International School of Johannesburg (AISJ).

The camp has returned to South Africa for the 16th time since its 2003 inaugural edition. It features 60 young high school basketball prospects from across Africa. Of those, 30 are girls Fowles is working closely with.

She hopes they become African stars and follow in the footsteps of Congo’s Mwadi Mabika and Bernadette Ngoyisa, Mali’s Hamchetou Maiga and Nigeria’s Mactabene Amachree, who are a few of the big names from the continent to have made it on the global stage mainly building their reputations playing in the WNBA.

The camp is being held as Nigeria’s women’s basketball team celebrated a landmark victory against Australia in their Olympic opener,  marking their first win at the Olympics in 20 years. 

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