NEBL Returns With Record Prize; Sporting Community Demands Equal Support

The return of the National Elite Basketball League may be much more than what happens on the court this season. The Ministry of Sports says the NEBL’s new one‑hundred‑thousand‑dollar prize pool isn’t just a big headline, it’s also part of a pilot project under a new national policy to invest in top‑tier, well‑structured leagues across multiple sports. But with so many athletes still waiting for proper facilities, what many are wondering is: why basketball first, and what about everybody else? Shane Williams was at the relaunch and pressed officials on where support for other sports stands. He has our story.

 

Shane Williams, Reporting…

After five years away, the National Elite Basketball League is back, relaunched at the Belize Civic Center with major government backing. The big headline is a record‑setting, hundred-thousand-dollar championship prize, the largest in Belize’s sports history. But organizers say it’s about more than money. Sports Minister Devin Daly calls the NEBL a pilot project under government’s new strategy to build serious, high‑performance leagues, ones that create real development, real opportunity, and real professionalism across the sport.

 

Devin Daly, Minister of State, Youth and Sports

“It’s a hundred thousand dollars across seven teams, across the districts. I think it’s every district representation except Punta Gorda. This is the first time. This is a pilot project and this is something that we plan on expanding across the different disciplines. It’s the same plan. We are basically subsidizing everything, except the registration cost for each teams. We are providing transportation, marketing, security, venue rental. The only commitment that the teams have for this tournament is paying their registration which is seven thousand dollars and actually paying their players. Our post evaluation of this tournament of this league will have that evaluation to say what are the best practices. What are the lessons learn from the league and our commitment, myself and Minister Mahler, is that we will fine tune it after the season is over and we will make that preposition to the different federations on how we can partner to do and replicate this for the other disciplines across the country.”

Under this model, government support is tied to development, national reach and opportunities for athletes, criteria that will guide future investments in football, volleyball, softball, cycling and other disciplines. NEBL Commissioner Leeroy Banner says structured leagues like this create pathways not just to championships but to education, discipline, and economic opportunity for young Belizeans.

 

Leeroy Banner, NEBL Commissioner

“Many times we go to play basketball, but there’s no tournament and no league for us to aspire to go to. So you play, you’re talented, but then after a few years you stop, you go to work and then that’s the end of your career. But with this league in place now it is signaling to the public that or to all the basketball playing youths that if you play hard, if you work out, if you focus on your skill then you can aspire to come and play at the Civic Center in your district. And spin off to that is that it create opportunities. And Minister Daly is a prime example that with sports you can get scholarship, you can play internationally, you can earn a degrees. And besides your personal upliftment, sports has – it has shown that sports decreased crime. There are many studies throughout the world where if persons are playing sports, they are less likely to commit time.”

 

But the NEBL relaunch comes at a time when athletes nationwide are frustrated. Many sporting facilities are run‑down, the Marion Jones Stadium can’t host top‑tier events, and Rogers Stadium is shut down while long‑delayed repairs drag on. That’s why critics are questioning the government’s six‑figure investment in a league that already has private backing. Minister Devin Daly says he hears the concern, but insists the current discomfort will pay off. He promises that long‑overdue upgrades to facilities across the country are finally on the way.

 

Devin Daly

“Today’s a historic day. A significant investment towards sport development and sport upliftment was made. We purchased or we signed an MOU with both the Basketball Federation and the Football Federation of Belize for  procuring synthetic basketball and pitches. There have been a lot of I would say discontentment within the public with the lack of development going on over the past ten months. However, a lot of persons before Minister Anthony and I have taken on these ministries and started off with developmental programs immediately, investments when it comes to facilities, but no one has, in my opinion, ever taken the time to get the foundation right in the ministry. In terms of the importation of it and the actual installation, I know that for Rogers Stadium, for Mexico Center and for MCC these masterplans are on the edge of completion and so while we were dealing with focusing on the foundation and making those amendments to the aminogram these were things that we’re rolling out now.”

 

The NEBL season is set to tip off on February twentieth, and all eyes will be on how this revamped league performs. Officials say it could mark the start of a brand‑new era of government‑backed, high‑level competition in Belize. And if the NEBL delivers, it could pave the way for even more: semi‑pro women’s volleyball and softball leagues, big dreams Belizean athletes have held onto for years. So, this season isn’t just about basketball. It’s about what comes next. Shane Williams for News Five.