YBF announces start date for 1st division league

The Yemeni General Basketball Federation (YBF) has officially announced that the first division league for the 2024/2025 season in the men's category will commence on December 5th. This league will feature all teams that qualified through last year's classification league. Eight teams will compete, including Wahda Sana'a (the classification league champion), Ahli Sana'a (runner-up), al-Tilal (third place), along with Shaab Hadramout, Sayoun, Aa-Mina, Shamsan, and al-Barq Tarim. The Federation has outlined organizational regulations for the league, which will follow a round-robin format over two rounds, with teams playing both home and away matches. The match schedule has been carefully designed to accommodate the current circumstances and the challenges faced by the clubs. Initially, teams from each governorate will face each other at home and away. This will be followed by a series of gatherings: first, the Sana'a gathering, where teams from Hadhramaut will compete against the capital's teams, then Aden gathering featuring teams from Sana'a and Hadhramaut against those from Aden. The league will conclude with the second leg matches, where all teams will play each other, except for teams from the same province that will have previously faced off in the first stage. Each team will participate in 14 matches, with the league ending on February 15, 2025. In a notable development, each team will be allowed to register one Palestinian player as a local participant in both the men's and junior categories. This decision comes in light of the struggles faced by the Palestinian people amidst ongoing conflict. The league champion will represent Yemen in future international competitions, while the teams finishing in seventh and eighth place will be relegated to the second division. Each team may also register one professional player throughout the tournament. Additionally, the General Basketball Federation is preparing to launch age group competitions for players born in 2005 and 2007, as well as second division lea gue competitions, following the conclusion of the men's league. Source: Yemen News Agency