Get to know BAL debutant Dar City

Dar City, the first Tanzanian team to qualify for the Basketball Africa League, are hoping to make a statement in their debut.

Other Tanzanian teams like Pazi, ABC and Kurashi, tried and fell short in the qualifiers, but Dar City did things differently, adding the country's name to the list of the continent's basketball elite.

Founded in 2022, the Dar City Basketball Club is based in Tanzania's largest city, Dar es Salaam.

They won back-to-back National Basketball League (NBL) titles in 2024 and 2025.  They are widely regarded as the most dominant team in Tanzania in recent times.

How they qualified for the 2026 BAL season

Before reaching the 2025 Road to BAL Elite 16 in Nairobi, Dar City hosted and comfortably beat the Comoros team, Djabal Club, 102–50 in the group phase, then overcame Uganda’s Namuwongo Warriors 83–70.

Once in the Kenyan capital, Dar City continued their dominant performance, seeing off Zambian champions Matero Magic (85–78), Malawi’s Bravehearts (93–75), and closing their group phase campaign with an 87–78 win over Mozambique’s Ferroviario da Beira.

However, against the odds, Dar City fell short in the decisive semi-final against the Johannesburg Giants, losing 71–69. 

Dar City’s 92–77 win in the third-place play-off against Beira was enough to secure Dar City the final qualifying spot for the 2026 BAL season.

They closed their 2026 Road to BAL campaign with a 6–1 win–loss record.

Dar City roster

As we write, the Tanzanian champions have revamped their roster following the departures of Deng Deng, Solo Diabate, Raphiael Putney and Youssoupha Ndoye, all of whom played a vital role in the team’s historic qualification for the BAL.

Dar City retained local players Ally Faraji Abdallah, Amin Mkosa Juma, Fotius Ngaiza Felesian and Hasheel Thabeet, and extended the contract of Ivorian shooting guard Nisre Zouzoua.

Meanwhile, they welcomed South Sudanese player Junior Madut; David Micheneau, who last played for Monaco; Michael Foster Jr., who had a brief NBA career with the Philadelphia 76ers; and Nigerian international Daniel Utomi.

Head Coach 

Mamadou Pabi Gueye, from Senegal, is the man at the helm of the Tanzanian champions. 

He has a successful BAL career behind him, having been named the league’s 2023 Coach of the Year.

Under Coach Gueye's leadership, AS Douanes secured second place in the 2023 BAL season after a 80-65 defeat to Egyptian giants Al Ahly SC.

Coach Gueye has also served as head coach of the Senegal men’s national team on occasion. He currently assists DeSagana Diop.

Coach Gueye's assistant is Nabil Kabalan, who served as assistant coach to the 2025 BAL champions, Al Ahly Tripoli.

Dar City will make their BAL debut on 27 March, facing a familiar opponent in the form of the Johannesburg Giants at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.