THE Jamaica Basketball Association (JABA) has formally named Cedella Marley its official ambassador as it embarks on a campaign to qualify Jamaica for the upcoming FIBA World Cup in 2027 and the Summer Olympic Games a year later.

Marley, a director of the Bob Marley Foundation (BMF), has been the association’s benefactor for roughly 18 months. However, she was officially announced as ambassador and given credit for her work already done during a cocktail banquet hosted at the AC Hotel on Friday night. JABA presented Marley and her son, Saiyan, with commemorative plaques as tokens of appreciation for their involvement in local basketball.

Marley, the daughter of late reggae icon Bob Marley, is also known for being the benefactor for Jamaica’s Reggae Girlz who qualified for back-to-back FIFA Women’s World Cups in 2019 and 2023, helped by her funding and support.

She hopes to raise the profile of Jamaica’s basketball programme like she has for women’s football but says she is focused on doing it in small steps.

“Everything I do, I take it little by little,” she told the Jamaica Observer. “I don’t expect anything to be given. I expect us to all work hard and as we build, we’ll see what happens — but I think the future is bright for basketball in Jamaica.”

Jamaica Basketball Association President Paulton Gordon (right) has the attention of Chris Zacca (left), president and CEO of Sagicor; and JABA Ambassador Cedella Marley during a cocktail reception at AC Hotel Kingston on Friday May 9, 2025 to officially annouce Marley as the ambassador of Jamaica’s basketball team. (Photo: Joseph Wellington)

Marley says that although she is busy serving in various roles in different industries, being an ambassador for JABA matters.

“It is important,” she said. “It’s my son’s vision and I’m a mother, so yuh know how dat go. We’re all parents, and when your baby says, ‘Mommy, I want this, can you do this?’, then you support it.”

JABA President Paulton Gordon says this partnership is a catalyst for growth in local basketball.

“We’re on the runway and we’re about to take off,” he said. “This is another step that we wanted as it relates to the growth of basketball. Our mandate is to develop basketball from the grass roots level to the very elite. With partners such as the Bob Marley Foundation we’re confident that we’ll get where we want to be.”

Gordon says a key objective is to have 60 primary schools playing basketball in the next two to three years.

“We know that we require a foundation for basketball to grow,” he said. “All the other sports have that foundation. We need to get more kids involved in basketball from ages four up. That’s what happens in the other markets and that’s where we need to go. “

Gordon says such a programme will also deepen the talent pool for basketball at the secondary school level and then enable Jamaica to produce more players for the national level.

National Coach Rick Turner agrees with Gordon and urges the public to get behind the programme so as to make the Olympic dream possible.

“We’re glad that you’re on this journey with us,” he said, addressing the guests. “We want everybody in this room to be a part of that journey with us and get behind what we’re doing. We need to introduce Jamaica basketball to the world, but we’ve got to first introduce Jamaica basketball to Jamaica.”

Meanwhile, Jamaica Olympic Association President Christopher Samuda also pledged his support for JABA’s ambitions.

“The love that I see that Cedella has expressed, the commitment that your team has articulated repeatedly, and the team that you have in terms of your coaches and administrators, exemplifies that model for success that we embrace in the Olympic movement,” he said. “It’s going to be a reality, and we must make it a reality so that we can demonstrate to the world that we not only have a sprinting factory but also a repository for sporting progress — and basketball has that potential.”

Another guest on the night was AJ Dybantsa Jr who plays for Utah Preparatory, an American high school. Dybantsa, who is the number one player in the 2025 class in the United States, has Jamaican roots stemming from his mother, Chelsea, while his father, Ace, is Congolese.

Dybantsa, who has partnered with BMF and Nike, has visited various communities and donated gear to young players this week.

“They obviously look up to me and want to be where I’m at someday,” he said. “I still have a long way to go, obviously, and what I’m doing is for this country — my mom is from here and I have Jamaica in my heart. I’m always going to be half-Jamaican.”