BAL 2025 Starts Fifth Season on April 5th
The Basketball Africa League (BAL), announced today that the league's fifth season will commence on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco and will culminate with the 2025 BAL Finals on Saturday, June 14, at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.
The first BAL matches will be held in Morocco, and it will be the first time the BAL Finals will be held in South Africa. The 2025 BAL season will feature the 12 best club teams from 12 African countries competing in 48 matches in Rabat, Dakar, Senegal, Kigali, Rwanda, and Pretoria.
The BAL Teams
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The 12 teams will once again 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 remaining three teams in its conference twice.
The Kalahari Conference group stage will take place from April 5 to 13 in Rabat. The Sahara Conference group stage will take place from Saturday, April 26, to Sunday, May 4, at the Dakar Arena in Dakar.
The Nile Conference group stage will take place from Saturday, May 17 to Sunday, May 25 at the BK Arena in Kigali.
Eight teams from the three conferences will qualify for the Playoffs in Pretoria, which will begin on Friday, June 6, and culminate with the 2025 BAL Finals on Saturday, June 14.
“We have seen tremendous growth over the first four seasons of the BAL in terms of competition on the field, attendance, and engagement from fans and partners in Africa and around the world.”
"Our landmark fifth season will build on this momentum and further showcase the level of talent and passion for basketball in Africa."
Said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.
The New Conference
“The Kalahari Conference marks yet another expansion of BAL into a new country on our continent, and we are very pleased.”"Year after year, this competition grows, giving greater exposure to our sport and helping to raise the level of basketball in Africa, making the league increasingly competitive."
This season, the national league champions of seven countries—Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tunisia—automatically qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams will qualify through qualifying tournaments.Road to the BAL“, held by FIBA Africa across the continent from October to December 2024.
The Kalahari Conference marks yet another expansion of BAL to a new country on our continent.
Evolve the BAL
In addition to the games, BAL will once again collaborate with its partners to deliver youth development and social impact programs across the four markets, including the Jr. NBA.
There will also be coaching and referee clinics, environmental service days, the fourth BAL Innovation Summit, networking sessions to interact with members of the media, and a series of training camps and workshops for young women as part of BAL4HER, the league's platform to promote gender equality in the African sports ecosystem.
The Rwanda Development Council, NIKE, Jordan Brand, and Wilson will return as Founding Partners of the BAL. The league's marketing partners also include Castle Lite, Hennessy, and RwandAir.
The Time of 2024
On June 1, 2024, Petro de Luanda, from Angola, became the first team from sub-Saharan Africa to win the BAL finals, after previous champions Egypt and Tunisia.
The 2024 BAL season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set a record attendance of over 120.000 fans across the four host countries, and generated more than 1,2 billion impressions across the NBA and BAL social media channels.
More information about the 2025 BAL season will be announced in the coming months.
About BAL
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa. It is a professional league featuring 12 African teams that completed its fourth season in June 2024.
Based in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on club competitions organized by FIBA Africa across the continent and marks the NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.
Conclusion
The 2025 Basketball Africa League season promises to be even better than the previous one, solidifying the growth and expansion of this innovative league. With new conferences, social impact events, and a calendar packed with exciting matches, the BAL promotes talent on the continent and reinforces the sport's impact on society.
The addition of new locations like Rabat and Pretoria demonstrates the league's commitment to diversification and growth.
As the BAL continues to unite teams, fans and partners from around the world, it is clear that African basketball is reaching a new level of competitiveness and global visibility. We can only wait for the excitement that the 2025 season will bring, with moments that promise to be memorable both on and off the court.
Picture: © 2024 NBA
