DAKAR, SENEGAL – THE Basketball Africa League (BAL) announced today that the league’s expanded fourth season will begin on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. The BAL 2024 season will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a record 48 matches in Pretoria. Cairo, Egypt? Dakar, Senegal? and Kigali, Rwanda over four months, marking the first BAL matches in South Africa and the first time the league will play matches in four different countries. Fans can register their interest in match tickets in all four markets at BAL.NBA.com.
During the 2024 BAL season, the 12 teams will be divided into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference will play a 12-game group stage during which each team will face the other three teams in their conference twice. The opening group stage of the Kalahari Conference will take place from Saturday 9 March to Sunday 17 March at the SunBet Arena. The group stage of the Nile Conference will take place from Friday 19 April to Saturday 27 April at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo. The group stage of the Sahara Conference will take place from Saturday 4 May to Sunday 12 May at the Dakar Arena in Dakar. The top two teams from each conference and the top two third-place teams from the three conferences will travel to Kigali for four seeding games, followed by eight games, playoffs and single-elimination finals from Friday, May 24 to Saturday, June 1.
BAL also announced today that the league will host a Combine in Rabat, Morocco from Friday, January 5 β Sunday, January 7, marking the league’s first Combine in Africa following previous editions in New York and Paris. The three-day scouting event, which will be held at the Ibn Yassine Omnisports Hall, will feature 30 aspiring players from Africa, Europe, the US and around the world participating in anthropometric and athletic testing, positional skill development and 5-on – 5 games in front of team executives, coaches and scouts. Former NBA player Robert Pack will serve as the Combine Camp Director.
“We are excited to play the first BAL matches in Pretoria, South Africa and to return to Dakar, Cairo and Kigali where we have seen huge fan attendance over the last three seasons,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. βAs we prepare for the 2024 BAL season, we remain committed to continuing to improve the quality of our on-field product, and this Combine in Rabat will once again showcase top players, including from across the African diaspora, who can make significant contributions to its squads BAL and further establish the BAL as a world-class professional basketball league.β
On January 5 as part of the Combine, BAL will host an U-23 βBAL4HERβ scouting camp that will bring together 20 female players and four female coaches from across Morocco to participate in on-court basketball development programming. The camp is part of a series to identify 20 of the top female players from across Africa who will participate in a five-day camp in Kigali in conjunction with the BAL 2024 Playoffs and Finals. The league will also host a coaching clinic for 200 locals coaches. Fall, FIBA ββAfrica and BAL Board President Anibal Manave and 2011 NBA Champion and BAL Ambassador Ian Mahinmi will attend the Combine and interact with all participants.
During his 13-year NBA career, Pack played for the Portland Trail Blazers, Denver Nuggets, Washington Bullets, New Jersey Nets, Dallas Mavericks, Minnesota Timberwolves and New Orleans Hornets. He previously served as head coach of Rwanda Energy Group (REG) in the BAL and as an assistant coach for the LA Clippers, Oklahoma City Thunder, New Orleans Pelicans and Washington Wizards in the NBA.
The Rwanda Development Board, NIKE, Jordan Brand and Wilson will return as BAL Foundation Partners. The league’s list of world-class marketing partners also includes Afreximbank, Hennessy and RwandAir.
The 12 BAL teams, conferences, fixture list and additional information for the 2024 BAL season will be announced in the coming months.
About BAL
The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that will begin its fourth season in March 2024. Based in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundations of the club competitions that FIBA ββAfrica has organized across the continent and marks the NBA’s first partnership to operate a league outside of North America. Fans can follow the BAL (@theBAL) at Facebook, Instagram, Xand YouTube and to indicate their interest in receiving more information at BAL.NBA.com.