The Basketball Africa League BAL will tip-off on May 16 at the world-class Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda. Twelve best teams from the African continent will compete for the top crown at the club level.
The inaugural season was set to tip on March 13, 2020, at the Dakar Arena in Senegal. Originally scheduled to take place in different countries throughout Africa, though it was postponed twice due to COVID-19. The good news from NBA Africa now is that the Basketball Africa League tournament will eventually begin and take place at Kigali Arena in Rwanda between May 16 and May 30, 2021.
Amadou Gallo Fall, the NBA Vice President and BAL President, said that he is excited to announce to the fans of Basketball on the African continent and across the world that they are thrilled that the inaugural Basketball Africa League season will take place in Kigali.
“Since we decided to postpone the inaugural season of Basketball Africa League due to the pandemic, we spent a lot of time looking at the best scenario that will allow us to launch the league while keeping everyone safe. Today, I am excited to announce that the inaugural season of the Basketball Africa League will tip-off on May 16th with the final game on May 30th. Twelve teams from twelve different African countries, 26 games, all in one location, the world-class Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda,” he said.
He continued to say, “Our goal is to build a top-flight competition that will reflect the continent’s talents, passion, and love for the game of Basketball. With our partners FIBA, we created the Basketball Africa League to provide the platform for elite players from across the continent to showcase the talents at home and inspire more young boys and girls to play the game.”
According to the FIBA website, The Basketball Africa League will implement robust health and safety protocols for the 12 teams and personnel travelling to Rwanda, based on guidance from the World Health Organization and the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with advice from public health officials and medical experts.
In a statement full of joy, Anibal Manave, FIBA Africa and BAL Board President said that he is extremely happy to finally launch the highly anticipated first season of BAL and added “FIBA and the NBA have been working closely together to develop protocols to address the health and safety of all players, coaches, and officials. The experience of hosting the FIBA AfroBasket 2021 Qualifiers in Rwanda late last year will contribute to a safe and successful inaugural BAL season.”
In Kigali, there will be 26 matches. The competition will tip-off with group stage games where 12 teams will be divided into three groups of four. Each team facing the three other teams in its group and then the top eight teams from the group phase will qualify to the knockout stage, which will be single elimination up to the final. The groups will be announced in due course.
Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a joint effort between the National Basketball Association (NBA) and International Basketball Federation (FIBA) with sponsorship from Nike, Jordan Brand and Pepsi. Furthermore, it is the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.
Its inaugural season started with qualifying rounds in October 2019 and the regular season was scheduled in March 2020 but it was postponed twice due to the pandemic that hit the globe. The competition replaces FIBA’s Africa Basketball League as the continent’s top tier league.
Rwanda’s representative and East African flag bearer, Patriots qualified to the final games after registering an unbeaten record of nine games in two rounds of qualifiers.
The 12 teams that will compete in inaugural BAL season include:
1. AS Douanes (Senegal)
2. AS Police (Mali)
3. AS Salé (Morocco)
4. FAP (Cameroon)
5. Ferroviário de Maputo (Mozambique)
6. GNBC (Madagascar)
7. GS Pétroliers (Algeria)
8. Patriots (Rwanda)
9. Petro de Luanda (Angola)
10. Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria)
11. US Monastir (Tunisia)
12. Zamalek (Egypt)
