NEW YORK
The U.S. National Basketball Association will host a basketball development camp in Havana later this month, the league announced Tuesday.
The April 23-26 camp will be held in conjunction with the world's basketball governing body, FIBA, and will be led by former NBA stars Steve Nash and Dikembe Mutombo, and Women's National Basketball Association legend Ticha Penicheiro.
"This is a great day for Cuban basketball and our federation," said Ruperto Herrera, head of the Cuban Basketball Federation. "To have both the NBA and FIBA collaborate on youth instruction and the development of the game in our country is magnificent."
NBA Deputy Commissioner and FIBA Executive Committee Member Mark Tatum said he expects the camp to display the ability of sports to dissolve barriers. "We've seen the bridges that basketball can build between cultures. We look forward to sharing the values of our game with Cuban youth and learning together through the common language of sports."
The NBA will be the first American professional sports league to visit Cuba since last December's decision by the Cuban and American governments to begin to normalize relations.
In another sign of thawing relations between the longtime foes, U.S. soccer club New York Cosmos announced last month that it would play an exhibition match against the Cuban national team on June 2 in Havana.
