In a stunning piece of news for Basketball Australia, today they announce that former New South Wales Premier, Kristina Keneally will become Chair of the board.
Originally from the USA, Keneally grew up playing basketball through high school. She was the first female Premier of NSW from 2009-2011. Her influence in the Labor party may be highly effective in pushing for federal funding for basketball — a sport that typically struggles to get the money that the football codes attract.
Currently serving as the member for Heffron in State Parliament, Ms. Keneally said she saw huge opportunities for basketball to build on its recent gains.
“As a sport, basketball in Australia has some unique advantages that we are only just starting to capitalise on,” Ms. Keneally said. “Our incredible strength in terms of mass participation numbers, with over one million people regularly playing basketball, is largely untapped thus far. The continued excellence of our national teams and competitions in what is a truly global sport is not just a source of immense pride, but also a source of significant potential corporate opportunities.
“I am passionate about sports in general and basketball in particular,” Ms. Keneally added. “I look forward to working with the rest of the Board to build further upon all the good work already done over the past few years. I am genuinely excited to have been entrusted with this role.”
