Host cities, venues, and dates for BAL’s expanded fourth season, which will feature a record 48 games in Pretoria, Cairo, Dakar, and Kigali, have been announced. Pre-season activities include the Combine in Rabat, a scouting program targeting 30 aspiring players from Africa, Europe, the U.S., and around the world.
SPN Africa Staff
The expanded fourth season of the Basketball Africa League will tip off on Saturday, March 9, 2024, at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.
According to a press statement by the BAL on January 5, 2024, the upcoming season will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a record 48 games in Pretoria; Cairo, Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; and Kigali, Rwanda over four months.
This marks the first time BAL games will be played in South Africa and the first time the league will play games in four different countries.
BAL explains that during the 2024 season, the 12 teams will be divided into three conferences of four teams. Each conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice.
The inaugural Kalahari Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, March 9 – Sunday, March 17 at the SunBet Arena while the Nile Conference group phase will take place from Friday, April 19 – Saturday, April 27 at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo. The Sahara Conference group phase will, on the other hand, take place from Saturday, May 4 – Sunday, May 12 at the Dakar Arena in Dakar.
The top two teams from each conference and the top two third-place teams from across the three conferences will travel to Kigali for four seeding games followed by an eight-game, single-elimination Playoffs, and Finals from Friday, May 24 – Saturday, June 1.
Besides, the BAL also revealed the league will host a Combine in Rabat, Morocco from Friday, Jan. 5 – to Sunday, Jan. 7, marking the league’s first Combine in Africa after previous editions in New York City 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 U.S. and around the world taking part 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 Combine Camp Director.
“We are thrilled to play the first BAL games in Pretoria, South Africa, and to return to Dakar, Cairo, and Kigali, where we’ve seen tremendous fan engagement over the past three seasons,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.
“As we get ready for the 2024 BAL season, we remain committed to continuing to improve the quality of our on-court product, and this Combine in Rabat will once again showcase top-flight players, including from across the African Diaspora, who can contribute significantly to BAL teams and further establish the BAL as a world-class professional basketball league.”
On Jan. 5 as part of the Combine, the BAL hosted a U-23 “BAL4HER” identification 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 2024 BAL Playoffs and Finals. The league will also host a coaching clinic for 200 local coaches. Fall, FIBA Africa and BAL Board President Anibal Manave, and 2011 NBA champion and BAL Ambassador Ian Mahinmi attended the Combine and interacted with all of the 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.
Rwanda Development Board, NIKE, Jordan Brand, and Wilson will return as BAL Foundational Partners. The league’s roster of world-class marketing partners also includes Afreximbank, Hennessy, and RwandAir.
