The National Basketball Association and Sports for Education and Economic Development, a non-profit organisation in Thiès, Senegal that uses basketball as a platform to engage youth in academic, athletic, and leadership programmes, announced today that two elite female athletes from the NBA Academy Women’s Programme had received scholarships to attend SEED Academy in Thiès.
Aminata Tal (Senegal) and Sira Thienou (Mali) – who joined SEED Academy last month – were among top prospects from across the continent to participate in the 2019 NBA Academy Women’s Programme camp at NBA Academy Africa in Saly and were awarded scholarships in recognition of their leadership on-and-off the court.
At SEED Academy, Tal and Thienou will receive “high-level basketball training, tutoring, ESL training, life-skills development, and academic and career guidance” to help them prepare for the next step in their basketball and educational journeys.
“We are proud to partner with SEED Academy on this initiative, which continues the great momentum we are seeing for young women across the continent who are using the game of basketball to maximize their potential as players and leaders,” said 2003 WNBA Champion and NBA Academy Africa Women’s Programme Lead, Astou Ndiaye.
“Aminata and Sira are promising young women who excel on-and-off the court, and we hope this opportunity will help serve as a pathway to their future success.”
“The NBA Academy Women’s Programme aims to provide basketball and leadership development opportunities for high-performing young women from across the continent,” said NBA Africa Chief Executive Officer, Victor Williams.
NBA Academy Africa is an elite basketball training centre in Saly, Senegal for top male prospects from Africa and the first of its kind on the continent.
Since the academy opened in 2018, NBA Academy Africa has hosted three NBA Academy Women’s Programme camps.
