Basketball
YORA SUMMIT 2026: Kenyan Business Executive Stella Waga Recalls How Education Stopped Her From Playing Basketball
A Kenyan business executive, Stella Waga, has taken her mind back in time to recall how her devotion to education stopped her from becoming a professional basketball player, Sports247 reports.
The soft-spoken Waga made the revelation while speaking to Sports247 in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of the ongoing Year of Return Africa (YORA 2026) Summit & Expo at Westlands in Nairobi, Kenya.
Waga recounted how her love for basketball blossomed for some years, until her parents insisted that she had to concentrate on her academics, which ultimately consumed all her attention while growing up.
She disclosed at length, “I played basketball in high school, and I was very good at it … extremely good. However, at a point, I had to drop it, because my dad was strict about education.
“My parents wanted education for me – as long as my grades were okay, my folks were happy with me. It was non-negotiable. Sports had to be in tandem with me doing well in class.
“Pretty much, I had to drop basketball; mostly in order not to be disrespectful to my parents, despite the passion I had for the game. I guess, at some point, our focus is different from that of our parents.”
She continued by also acknowledging how gender issues and her love for intellectual endeavours also played key roles in taking her away from the basketball court into the boardroom, but stressed that she has no regrets about it.
“Most people think basketball is for the boys, and that also meant I was not encouraged to continue. I did go for auditions as an undergraduate at Kenya University.
“I did go to the pitch once in a while, like a bicycle, but the fire was not just there. So I stopped. Nowadays, once in a while, I still try to play a little, because I was really good at it.
“I was really good in basketball and, at a point, I wanted to play it actively. I even loved the way that I met my first coach at a random meeting, when I went to my elder sister’s graduation.
“I was just walking on the street when he spotted me. He said the way I looked showed that I played basketball. He tried to get me fully into the game and even offered me a scholarship, but my dad was against it.
“After a while, I just moved on. It was an appointment that ended before it even started, but I have no regrets about it. I’m also an intellectual and I am happy with what I am doing.
“I loved playing basketball with a passion, but I don’t think I would have done the same as a professional. When money comes into it, that commercialises everything and takes away the passion you have for it,” Waga posited.
Sports247 reports further that Wednesday’s sessions at YORA 2026 focused fully on sporting efforts, activities, endorsements and aspirations, with each participant given time to share their experiences about the sector and rub minds on how to make it grow better across Africa.
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