Basketball player Luol Deng, of Team GB and the Cleveland Cavaliers, is to launch his first basketball academy in Brixton this year, DENG Academy, in reaction to basketball funding being cut by UK Sport.

The academy is in partnership with Nike, Evelyn Grace Academy and Reforming Black Britain and will impact the local community by feeding players into Brixton Topcats Basketball Club. Deng commented 'The game has given me so much and I want it to benefit kids and give them the same opportunities that I had. This is why launching my first-ever academy in my hometown of Brixton is a huge deal for me. Despite the bad news of the funding cuts, we still have to remain positive and try to keep pushing the sport forward in the UK'.