On Saturday the Basketball Africa League (BAL) announced the 12 club teams from 12 African countries that will compete in the league's inaugural season, which is set to tip off on Friday, March 13 in Dakar, Senegal. The announcement was made by BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall at the NBA All-Star 2020 Africa Luncheon in Chicago.
Champions from national leagues in six countries – Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Senegal and Tunisia – were guaranteed representation in the inaugural BAL season. The remaining six teams, which come from Algeria, Cameroon, Madagascar, Mali, Mozambique and Rwanda, secured their participation through BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the continent in late 2019.
These are the 12 teams:
Country | Team |
Algeria | GSP (Groupement Sportif des Pétroliers) |
Angola | Petro de Luanda (Clube Atlético Petroleos de Luanda) |
Cameroon | FAP (Forces Armées et Police Basketball) |
Egypt | Zamalek |
Madagascar | GNBC (Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club) |
Mali | AS Police (Association Sportive de la Police Nationale) |
Morocco | AS Salé (Association Sportive de Salé) |
Mozambique | Ferroviàrio de Maputo |
Nigeria | Rivers Hoopers BC (Rivers Hoopers Basketball Club) |
Rwanda | Patriots BC (Patriots Basketball Club) |
Senegal | AS Douanes (Association Sportives des Douanes) |
Tunisia | US Monastir (Union Sportive Monastirienne) |
And here's a look at what the teams will wear in the inaugural BAL season:
The 12 club teams from across the continent of Africa are divided into two conferences, with each conference playing in three cities. Each team will play five games in the regular season, facing every team in its conference once. The top four teams in each conference will qualify for the single-elimination playoffs. The inaugural BAL regular season will take place in Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Monastir (Tunisia) and Salé (Morocco). Kigali (Rwanda) will host the first-ever BAL Playoffs and Finals.
"This is a historic moment as we welcome the 12 teams that will participate in our inaugural season," Fall said in a statement. "These teams have earned the opportunity to represent their respective countries and will establish the BAL as a world-class product that entertains fans of all ages when the season tips off March 13."
NBA commissioner Adam Silver has described the BAL as an "important step" in continuing to develop the game of basketball in Africa.
"The Basketball Africa League is an important next step in our continued development of the game of basketball in Africa," Silver said last year. "Combined with our other programs on the continent, we are committed to using basketball as an economic engine to create new opportunities in sports, media and technology across Africa."
The Basketball Africa League is NBA's first professional basketball league outside of North America.