EDINBURGH has been awarded a franchise in the Women’s British Basketball League, with a semi-professional team joining the domestic top flight from next season, writes Mark Woods.
The club will be based at Oriam national performance centre and will be operated by Basketball Scotland.
With Oakland Wolves also joining – and Brixton Topcats opting out – it brings the WBBL to 10 sides for the 2016-17 campaign.
Basketball Scotland chief executive Kevin Pringle believes the move will allow more of the nation’s homegrown talents to forge careers on their own doorstep, as well as boosting their hopes of international recognition.
“The franchise will play a key part in Scotland’s preparation for the 2018 Commonwealth Games and we hope it will become a long-term part of our pathway, which will develop Scottish athletes that represent Great Britain,” Pringle said.
“Our vision for the programme is that it will be led by a core of Scottish players and supplemented with some additional talent to make sure the Scottish athletes are pushed every day in practice.”
Recruitment for a coach, who would also take charge of Scotland, has already begun while the team’s name and logo will be announced later this summer.
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