Dynamo forfeit BAL game against Rabat in wake of jersey protest - ESPN

PRETORIA, South Africa — Burundi's Dynamo BC have forfeited their Basketball Africa League game against FUS Rabat, set to be played Sunday, in the wake of the Burundian side's refusal to display tournament sponsor Visit Rwanda's logo.

Dynamo had blacked out the logo on their jerseys with tape for their opening game against Cape Town Tigers the night before. Dynamo went on to win the game, and in the aftermath Dynamo players declined to delve into detail about the protest, although guard Dhieu Deing confirmed to ESPN that it was related to the political conflict.

Tensions between Rwanda and Burundi escalated in January when Burundi closed the border between the landlocked central-eastern African countries, drawing anger from Rwanda. Weeks prior, Burundi President Évariste Ndayishimiye accused Paul Kagame's government of backing the RED-Tabara rebel militia.

The BAL announced on Sunday morning, just hours before the game, that Dynamo and Rabat will not be facing off in the Kalahari Conference fixture, the first of two to be played in Pretoria on Sunday. (Petro de Luanda and Cape Town will square off in the second game.)

The BAL statement read: «Dynamo Basketball Club (Burundi) has forfeited its game against FUS Rabat Basketball (Morocco) on Sunday, March 10 at the SunBet Arena for refusing to comply with the league's rules governing jersey and uniform requirements, it was announced today by BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.»

The forfeiture denies a chance for many promising young players to gain exposure. One of them is Dynamo's BAL Elevate player, Mouhamed Camara (Senegal), who impressed at Basketball Without Borders in Johannesburg last year and for the NBA Africa Academy in Road to BAL qualifying.

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