*First-time BAL participant

“Welcoming five new teams into the BAL family is a powerful sign of the league’s continued growth, the impact it is having on the African basketball ecosystem, and the incredible talent developing across the continent,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.  “We look forward to engaging our passionate fans in South Africa, Morocco, Rwanda and those watching across Africa and around the world as we continue to establish the BAL as the continent’s preeminent sport and entertainment property.”

This season, the national league champions from seven countries – Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia – automatically qualified for the BAL.  The other five teams qualified through the Road to the BAL (https://apo-opa.co/3ZXbskA) qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the continent from October – December 2025. 

Each conference will play a 15-game group phase during which each team will face the other five teams in its conference once. In the season opener, APR will face Al Ahly Ly at 4:00 p.m. CAT.  In the second game, the Johannesburg Giants will take on Dar City at 7:00 p.m. CAT.  Tickets for the Kalahari Conference group phase in Pretoria are on sale now at Ticketmaster.za (https://apo-opa.co/3MVtSPs). 

Eight teams from across the two conferences will qualify for the Playoffs in Kigali.  Tickets for the Sahara Conference group phase in Rabat and the Playoffs and Finals will be available soon. Fans can register their interest in tickets at BAL.NBA.com (https://apo-opa.co/4swTSjF). Fans who purchase tickets will also have free access to the BAL Fan Zone at each arena.

Additional information about the 2026 BAL season will be announced in the coming weeks.