Bravehearts breathe life into the soul of Malawi basketball

BRAVEHEARTS Basketball Club has become the epitome of success in basketball in Malawi. With every domestic title hoisted, the ten-year-old club’s status has been elevated in the hearts and minds of fans at its Lilongwe home base and possibly across the Southern African nation. Despite a lack of investment in basketball, the club has risen to become the face of the game, and the architect of that success is none other than Griffin Kalua.

Kalua wears a couple of hats inside and outside of basketball. He is a businessman as well as the founder and coach of Bravehearts. Last month (June), he led the men’s and women’s teams to four and five championships.

Before delving into the club’s recent success in both the men’s and women’s championships, he offered insights into building Brave Hearts in a climate that is not wholly supportive of basketball.

Kalua, who owns an import and export company, highlighted that basketball in Malawi receives little to no funding, so he has had to run Brave Hearts from his pocket.

“One of the reporters asked me why basketball does not get the kind of sponsorships that football and netball do,” said Kalua. “I raised two issues. The corporate world does not believe basketball can give immediate mileage in terms of advertising and branding.

“… Luckily, my companies have been sponsoring Bravehearts, and I have seen the benefits. Both of my companies are the reason we are able to do what we do. People are now also coming on board and want to do business with Bravehearts.”

Kalua also emphasised the importance of visionary leadership at all levels in making basketball work, a consistent plea throughout the continent. 

“The other issue is our leaders. They do not have a vision. When you get into leadership positions without a vision, you cannot attract anything,” said Kalua. “So that is why I decided to try to make the club self-sufficient. We have opened a business division at the club. It aims to generate funding for our day-to-day operations and philanthropic work. Another thing we want to do is to build a sports facility, which will also help us generate income. These are the dreams I have for the organisation.”

The success in the national championship led to prize money for both Bravehearts teams, but Kalua says he split the winnings among the men and women. While he commended the league for scaling up, he says the bulk of the money to fund the club still comes from him.

“We don’t get much from winning (the league). Both teams received a total of $2500. It’s not much, but it’s something,” said Kalua. “So when we get prize money, I leave it for the players and team officials. I do spend a lot of additional money every year to run the club.”

On the court, it has been another successful year for Kalua and Bravehearts. In June, the men captured a fourth national title, and the women added their fifth national trophy to the Bravehearts’ cabinet, meaning both teams will enter the continental stage.

 

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After becoming the first club from Malawi to qualify for the Road to BAL Elite 16 last year, Kalua is hoping for another return to that particular stage of the competition. He hopes they can go from qualifying to winning games.

“We did well in the preliminary stage in Zimbabwe, but what was crucial for us was to make it to the Elite 16. What helped us get that far was competing in tournaments in South Africa, Zambia, Tanzania and other parts of Southern Africa,” said Kalua. “We were not sure what to expect at the Elite 16. Getting that far and the exposure will help us prepare better this year.

“The first thing we want to do again is qualify for the Elite 16. Should we get there, we want to try and win one game. Last year in Kenya (at the Elite 16), we did not win a single game. If we get a win, it can be something to build on. It would be reckless to think we can go all the way, so what I am looking for is improvement from last year.”

Kalua also looks forward to the women’s team competing at the AWBL qualifiers after they last appeared in 2018. He hopes to do it via the Zone 6 (Southern Africa) qualifiers, which have not taken place for some time.

“I have a budget for the women. We have kept it for a long time. We thought we would go to the Zone 6 qualifiers last year. They did not happen. And by the time we tried to enter the qualifiers of another zone, it was too late,” said Kalua. “This time around, we are ready. We will go wherever the qualifiers take place. That is a promise.”

Being a dominant player in the Malawi basketball scene means the club has a strong culture, one that players can buy into and one that brings championships year after year. Kalua says never giving up is the creed they live by. This is a maxim that saw them qualify for the Elite 16 against difficult odds in Zimbabwe last year.

“These kids don’t give up. You would have seen the difficulty we experienced in Zimbabwe. We only had seven players, but against all odds, we qualified for the Elite 16. That culture has filtered throughout the club,” said Kalua. “We don’t give up easily. It’s one of the characteristics of Malawians. We go through a lot, being one of the poorest countries. It requires us to be resilient in the face of tough circumstances. So you will see the same on the court. These kids don’t give up.

“It’s a definition of a Malawian. We don’t give up easily. We fight for everything.”

Kalua’s passion for basketball has seen the club grow and thrive. He is investing in the long term, aiming for incremental wins, capitalising on Malawi’s resilience ethos, and building the club for sustainability. Brave Hearts are an emerging success story in African basketball. They are an example to follow in growing a basketball club and culture that influences an entire ecosystem.