Ziah Francis (’09) signs multi-year deal with Trento

City of Birmingham Rockets’ and England Under-14 Ziah Francis has signed a multi-year deal with Serie A side Aquila Basket Trento.

The 6’6″ 13 year old becomes the second Brit with the Italian team, after Quinn Ellis signed a 4-year contract last year – though is currently on loan to Monferrato.

Francis will make the move to Trento in August, which has come after standout seasons playing Under-14 and Under-16 national league with Rockets, while also representing Olimpia Milano in the Memorial Zanatta Tournament in December (pictured above) which he won while in Italy on variety of trials organised through his agent Marco Calise of Tangram Sports.

“The youth academy at Aquila Basket Trento is amazing,” Francis told Hoopsfix.

“I was lucky to have a few visits and offers from different teams but Trento was the best in terms of their focus on youth.

“The city of Trento and the way of life there is incredible, which was also a big factor in me wanting to sign here. I knew right away that they really wanted me, they valued me as a player and understood the way I want to play.

“The experience of trialling with them was great and to have access to great coaches like Marco Crespi, Coach Giovanni, Coach Sergio and the rest of the coaching staff there is a dream come true for me.”

Francis will continue his education in Italy, starting high school on his arrival, and he has also began learning Italian.

“Although I think we have phenomenal talent in the UK, we are still way behind countries like Italy when it comes to the sport as a whole,” he said on his decision to leave.

“I think it mostly comes down to funding. As far as I’m aware, there’s very little funding for basketball in the UK, which makes it very difficult for players to reach their potential here.

“I hope that will change in the future, and when I become a pro I will definitely use my platform to try to improve British basketball, especially at the youth level. After playing in Italy, it was clear that the level of competition, facilities, officiating and coaching is at a higher level than the UK and these are the things I need to progress and improve my game.”

GB Senior Men’s captain Carl Wheatle is the most successful British player to come through the Italian system, having signed an initial four year deal with Biella as an Under-16 in 2013.

Do you like our work?

We have a tiny favour to ask. In 2018 we set out to make Hoopsfix sustainable by building our relationship directly with our readers. Up until now, Hoopsfix has been creating editorials, videos and podcasts to provide sorely missing coverage of the British game and its distinct culture and community.

We have funded Hoopsfix with our freelance work creating basketball media, but sadly that means not only does it fall behind our client’s priorities, but some of those clients are the same organisations we need to report objectively on putting us in a conflicted position.

We want to devote more time to our mission of helping British basketball reach its potential, and produce even more content for the basketball community by making Hoopsfix a sustainable 100% independent business funded directly by our readers through Patreon.

If everyone who enjoys our content chose to support us, our future would be much more secure. For as little as $3 per month, you can support Hoopsfix – and it only takes a minute.

We are tremendously honoured and humbled to have a community of people who value what we do, and we look forward to being at the forefront of the British game as it continues to evolve.

Support Hoopsfix