NAIROBI, Kenya, Jan 10 – Charity begins at home but for Congolese-born Aly Samabaly, he knew Kenya was the one place he wanted to actualize his lifelong dream when he first landed in the country in 2007.
Son of a Malian father and Zairean mother, Samabaly had always wanted to develop and provide a platform for the next generation of African sportsmen and women to realise their God-given potential.
Coming so soon after he had formed the BE Own Sports Foundation, his interactions with various sports stakeholders who are familiar with Kenya’s potential as a sports powerhouse convinced him that here was a fertile ground to sow and take his dream to the next level.
“I met several athletes and other sportspersons from Kenya most of who had nothing but good things to say about the country. It is then that I told myself that it is here that I wanted to set up a sports start-up management company that will serve the rest of Africa,” Samabaly says.
And so the AlyMali Enterprise was launched in December last year with a sports and entertainment management wing, which seeks to empower African athletes to harness the full potential of the sports industry, whether on or off the pitch.
Already, the company has signed up Ronny Gundo of the national men’s basketball team, Kenya Morans, national ladies basketball team skipper Melissa Akinyi as well as with Kenya Volleyball Federation (KVF) men’s league side Trailblazers.
Samabaly says he dreams of days when African sportspersons will eat the fruits of their sweat even in their sunset days.
His company leverages on technology in pursuit of this vision.
“Our objective is to develop a hub through which African sportspersons can better their livelihoods in different sectors even when they retire. We will provide them with knowledge on how to brand and market themselves in their playing days and open them up to training and entrepreneurship opportunities to help them in retirement,” he explains.
Basketballer by accident
It is only right that the 41-year-old should harbour a passion for empowering young sportspersons from the continent considering the long walk to stardom he had to take.
For one who never wanted to become a basketballer, it is quite an interesting plot twist that he ended up becoming a pivotal player for his high school side, St Mary High School, for which he scored a game-high 61 points in three quarters.
From playing football on the streets of France to rubbing shoulders with future basketball star LeBron James – this was Samabaly’s transformation from obscurity to worldwide acclaim.
He was among prospective ballers at the Salem Division III boys’ basketball sectional-district team that consisted of among others, Los Angeles’ LeBron, Brandon Weems (currently assistant manager at Cleveland Cavaliers), Sian Cotton and Travis Romeo.
Samabaly reminisces on his time with LeBron and Co. and explains why he decided to take a different career path.
“Considering LeBron and I were the best players in my high school team, many expected me to transition to the NBA the way he did. However, I chose to do a different thing; it was my desire to empower future sportspersons and create opportunities for upcoming talents in Africa,” he explains.
It was by a stroke of luck that he ended up in Europe in the aftermath of the death of his father.
His dad’s second family, which had come to the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) for the funeral, took him back with them to France and from there on his journey to the peak began.
“Basketball was not my favourite sport but I would play it from time to time to improve on my skills. In France, I made a lot of friends most of who we would play football with on the streets,” Samabaly explains.
Caught the eye
Then came an international youth basketball tournament in Douai, Northern France where Samabaly earned his big break.
The competition, organised by the Ciecielski family in conjunction with the world basketball governing body, FIBA, attracted the who-is-who in scouting who were interested in unravelling the next Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or Shaquille O’Neal.
Organisers were soon scratching their heads to find a last-minute replacement for Ivory Coast who were a no-show; in stepped Samabaly and his friends who quickly formed a select team.
He had the unenviable task of marking one Tony Parker, who would later become an integral part of the title-winning NBA side, San Antonio Spurs.
“I saw it as the chance to shine and expose myself to the scouts. I was playing as a guard and managed to keep Parker out of the game. This was a great achievement considering he was one of the star players of the tournament,” Samabaly recalls.
This landed him a scholarship in the United States where he came into contact with LeBron in Akron, Ohio.
“We were great friends on and off the court but unfortunately I had to decide on whether to go pro or not. Instead, I decided to become a trainer for athletes and set up a gym where I would train different athletes in various sports,” Samabaly, whose twin daughters are great tennis prospects, says.
Optimistic about Africa
Samabaly is positive that Africa can dominate the sports arena for many years to come with the right injection of resources.
His work with BE Own Sports Foundation within and without the country has emboldened his belief that sports can be tool to reverse the continent’s fortunes.
“Two years later, we have around 1000 children in our camps in Nairobi and Kinshasa, having began with 50 children. My vision is to provide our youths with sports facilities to play and learn,” he says.
Samabaly adds: “The performance of Morocco for instance in the World cup attests to the growth of sports. The introduction of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in Rwanda is a massive development. The NFL is active in Nigeria and I am sure in Kenya, the government will never let Kenya fail in the race to be a sports power house in Africa.”
His Alymali Enterprise, headed by former national women’s basketball team captain Silalei Shani, is based in Westlands, which will hopefully become a hub of talent development in Africa and beyond.
To the extent that Samabaly’s vision targets African sportspersons, it is safe to say charity begins at home – or rather in the motherland.
