The just concluded Hope Basketball Tour 2024 hosted its flagship event, a five day U-18 Top 50 Basketball Camp in Eldoret at Nova Pioneer that brought together one hundred talented young athletes consisting of 50 boys and 50 girls aged 14-16.
Speaking in Nairobi on Saturday, Martin Okwako, the National Team Head Coach and Founder Elite Sports Basketball Africa Academy said that the camp begun on 15th of August and ended on 20th with athletes from various regions across Kenya, including 10 players from Eldoret city.
“The primary goal of the U-18 Top 50 Basketball Camp is to inspire young players to work hard, stay disciplined and remain focused on their dreams both on and off the court. The camp also aims to create a database of players to monitor and support their progress long after the event concludes, ” said Okwako adding that the broader impact of the Hope Basketball Tour is its message of hope to the youth—emphasizing that discipline, persistence, and focus on all aspects of life will lead to success.
Over the past five years, the Hope Tour has organized and hosted various basketball camps throughout Kenya including in cities and towns such as Mombasa, Kisumu, Kakamega, Wote, Thika, and Nairobi.
The tour’s mission is to provide young athletes with the skills, inspiration and guidance needed to excel in basketball and life in general as the 2024 camp continued to build on the success of previous camps held in various parts of the country.
All camp attendees were gifted a basketball kit, t-shirt and a ball. The camp’s lasting influence is summarized by a quote from Magic Johnson: “All kids need is a little help, a little hope, and somebody who believes in them.”
