OBA launches Athletes Development Centres League

MUSCAT: The Oman Basketball Association (OBA) has launched the Athletes Development Centres League, which will run from April 24 to May 16, underlining its focus on youth development while taking into account the academic commitments of school students enrolled in the programme.
According to an OBA press statement, the league will feature six training centres established in cooperation with the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth (MoCSY) across several governorates. The participating centres are Seeb Club and Al Amerat Club in Muscat Governorate, Nizwa Club and Al Bashayer Club in Al Dakhiliyah Governorate, Salalah Club in Dhofar Governorate, and Sohar Club in Al Batinah North Governorate.
The centres include a total of 150 players, with 25 players in each centre, in addition to 14 Omani coaches. All matches will be staged at the sub hall of Sultan Qaboos Sports Complex in Bausher.

Matches will be held every weekend on Fridays and Saturdays, with each centre playing two matches per week in a structure designed to develop players and give them competitive experience. The schedule was also prepared to suit school students, with fixtures set for weekends and the competition concluding ahead of final examinations.
OBA Chairman Eng Khalfan bin Saleh al Naabi said the league is part of the federation’s vision of investing in age-group categories and building a promising generation capable of representing clubs and national teams in the future.
He said the league represents an important step in the development of Omani basketball by providing a real competitive environment that helps measure players’ progress, sharpen their technical and physical skills and strengthen their mentality and competitive readiness. He added that the timing of the competition was carefully chosen to serve the best interests of student players.

QUALITATIVE STEP
Al Naabi described the league as a qualitative step forward for the Athletes Development Centres, saying it will raise players’ standards and also help Omani coaches evaluate performances, analyse matches and identify areas for improvement. He also praised the continued support of the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Youth, noting its major role in the success of the association’s development projects.
For his part, Abubakar bin Ahmed al Jahwari, OBA Vice-Chairman and Head of the Centres Supervisory Committee, said the league is aimed primarily at developing players technically and in terms of skill, rather than focusing only on results. He added that the weekly matches are designed to serve as a development tool before being purely competitive, while giving coaches and players the chance to assess earlier training phases and improve performance.

Regarding the girls’ sector, Al Jahwari said the Bausher Girls Centre hosts a friendly match at the end of each week against schools or sports academies, with future plans to establish a new girls’ centre in Al Batinah North at Sohar Sports Complex.
Meanwhile, Ghassan al Busaidy, technical coordinator of the centres, said the programme was prepared on clear organisational and technical foundations, balancing sporting and educational considerations while helping document results, analyse performances and track player development.