Owning a Team While Playing Overseas: One Man’s Quest to Elevate Cameroonian Basketball
In two short years, KSA Elite Basketball has gone from nonexistent to champions of Cameroon’s domestic league. We spoke with owner Kenneth Kadji on what’s next for him and the club.
Since the Basketball Africa League’s beginnings in 2021, Cameroon has been represented in the competition and qualifiers by Forces Armées et Police (FAP), the country’s perennial championship favorites. There was a monumental shakeup this year as Kadji Sports Academy Elite Basketball (KSA Basket) was crowned champion, clearing the way for the club to be Cameroon’s newest representative at the Road to BAL next fall.
Understanding the Bigger Picture
While this is great news for the fledgling team, Kenneth Kadji, the club’s owner and a current professional player himself, has even nobler ambitions.
“Kadji Sports Academy is a multi-sport development academy in Cameroon. Being a professional basketball player, I wanted to expand around the sport that I love,” Kadji stated. “I was looking for a way to have an impact in our Cameroonian league and build a quality, competitive team. I want to push all others around to do the same and ultimately have one of the toughest leagues in Africa.”
Building greatness from the ground up isn’t always linear. Kadji highlighted the on and off court efforts made by his players in getting KSA to this point.
“This is our second season in the league and I think we have gotten better every season. We tried to keep it professional in every aspect. Our team and players have made great sacrifices this year while understanding the bigger picture — and that’s what led us to success.”
Playing Pro vs. Managing Pros
Kadji played collegiately at the University of Miami before spending an NBA preseason with the Cleveland Cavaliers. He then played many years in Italy, Turkey and France among other countries. He currently plays for Sharjah Athletic Club in Dubai.
Playing professionally abroad comes with unique challenges in itself, and owning a team in one’s home country presents a ton of additional ones as well.
“It’s always a challenge, especially when you try to run a program from afar. I’m not in the country so things don’t always go well with managing different pieces.”
Despite the challenges, Kadji finds special advantages in maintaining a playing career while managing other players and staff.
“Yes, [playing while owning a team is] difficult but it also gives you a chance to understand many perspectives,” Kadji stressed. “You can relate with the players better and you can understand management and the struggles you might encounter from time to time.”
Without delving too deep into historical data, reaching the league’s summit this quickly after a club’s birth is likely unprecedented, and this was able to happen thanks to intentionality from the top down.
“I surrounded myself with trustworthy people. People who are passionate about basketball and know the game. People who are willing to see our league grow to be one of the biggest basketball leagues on the continent. It’s important to have people that are as invested as you in something, and that was our strength this year.”
Looking to the BAL as a Model
Everyone in Africa’s basketball ecosystem is well aware of the prospects of making it to the Basketball Africa League. It’s always in the back of the minds of decision makers. Kadji took domestic leagues as well as BAL games into account when making decisions for his club.
“I’ve been really interested in our basketball league and the leagues around our country. I’ve watched a lot of the BAL qualifiers so I had chances to scout some players and know how to build a team. Studying our league has helped me put a successful team together.”
Keeping tabs on Cameroon’s league was instrumental to championing it, but Kadji has also taken the time to figure out how successful BAL teams are run and apply those principles to his team.
“I’ve watched a lot of big teams like Petro de Luanda, US Monastir, Al Ahly and others, and what always stuck out is their professionalism and consistency in their work, whether it’s on the court or outside of it. We want to bring this to our club and run things like they do where the players and staff don’t have to focus on anything else but basketball.”
Now that KSA is on the cusp of contending for a spot in BAL season 5, Kadji is humbled that his organization is in this position.
“It means a lot for us, especially because we are only in our second season in our league. Being the club to represent Cameroon in that type of competition would be an immense honor.”
KSA’s rapid ascension could also mean more resources for the club and the academy in general; the increase in attention is palpable and the organization is ready to take full advantage of it.
“For now, I am the lone funder of the team, but I believe that will change soon. I think that people are seeing how committed we are and they are pleased by the success we are having right now.”
