Tunisian Basketball Club Faces Scrutiny After Historic Loss
A Tunisian basketball game has sparked controversy after a stunning outcome: the Mostaqbal Ben Arous women’s team failed to score a single point against the Tunisia Stadium team. This unusual result, a 161-0 victory for Tunisia Stadium, has ignited debate around the state of women’s sports in Tunisia and the challenges faced by amateur clubs.
The unusual match occured during the opening round of the women’s basketball league. Many were shocked by the lopsided score, questioning how Ben Arous could fail to put the ball in the basket for the entire 40-minute game.
Following the match, reports emerged revealing a surprising reason behind Ben Arous’s zero score. Sources close to the team revealed the club was struggling with player availability.
"The basketball branch in Mostaqbal Ben Arous is newly established…" explained Mohamed Hossam bin Hussein, President of Mostaqbal Ben Arous Women’s Sports Club. "We started operations last February, and because the team does not have sports facilities for training and games, we suffered a lot to gather female players to participate in league competitions."
Facing a shortage of players, the club was forced to field athletes from their handball team, who were also members of the basketball club.
This decision has sparked a heated debate. Less than a week after the game, the Tunisian Handball Federation revealed that three handball players had participated in the basketball game. The Federation condemned this as “a serious violation of the general laws” and suspended the Mostaqbal Ben Arous women’s handball team.
The Tunisian Basketball Association also took action, freezing the activities of the Mostaqbal Ben Arous team and canceling all previous results from the season.
Bin Hussein defended the decision to field the handball players, stating, “The Tunisia Stadium match was the team’s first official match. We refused to lose by absence and asked them to play the game. Since there were no female players, we had to rely on players who are involved in handball and basketball as well. We were not aware that playing two sports in an amateur team is against the general laws of sports.”
Lotfi Obaid, a member of the Tunisian Olympic Committee, offered a different perspective. "It was not a crime that happened that deserved to suspend female players from activity," he said. “There was no intention of cheating or breaking the laws of the players, and the club in which they are using their activities is not registered as a professional club, so the goals that motivated these players. attention must be paid to playing a baseball game, which is basically to avoid registration.”
Obaid believes the incident highlights the larger issue of funding and support for women’s sports in Tunisia.
"Women’s sports in Tunisia have many financial problems due to the lack of support from sponsorship and advertising companies, as well as the abandonment of several sports federations from supporting women’s sports in the country,” Obaid said.
This case has sparked nationwide conversations about the challenges faced by women athletes in Tunisia, and the need for greater investment and support for female sports programs.
[Image: Ben Arous Mostaqbal Women’s Basketball Association]
[Image: Mohamed Hossam bin Hussein, President of the Mostaqbal Ben Arous Association for Women’s Sports]
[Image: Lotfi Obaid, member of the Tunisian Olympic Committee]
2024-12-02 11:20:00
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