By Kiev Chesney
Just weeks after the Guyana Amateur Basketball Federation (GABF) announced that they would participate in an under-20 basketball tournament in Barbados, the federation announced that they were opting out because of insufficient finance.
Technical Director of the GABF and national coach Robert ‘Bobby’ Cadogan told Stabroek Sport on Friday that the GABBF earlier this week decided that they might be unable to participate because of inadequate funding.
Cadogan said that despite the many approaches made to the corporate sector, the federation was unable to come up with sufficient funding for the team and coaching staff.
“It costs about US$600 each for airfare and accommodation and for the twelve players that brings the budget to more than a million dollars,” he said.
Cadogan explained that though they had ben confident about raising the necessary funding at first, it later became evident that the time was too short.
Although the selection of the under-20 side was one of the main objectives of the current Inter Sub Association U-20 tournament, Cadogan said that it was very useful because it helped to raise the level of play and kept the players active.
He added that it was an attempt to switch from the regular inter-club competitions which were usually dominated by one of two teams while others are not exposed as much.
