Introducing the 2025 Kalahari Conference

Time flies, some say. The truth is that since Patriots Basketball Club from Rwanda beat Rivers Hoopers in the first game of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in June 2021, 144 league games have taken place since then.

And with the Kalahari Conference taking place in Rabat, Morocco from April 5-13 , the league will have reached 156 games before the Sahara Conference in Dakar later this month.

Kalahari Conference hosts FUS Rabat will take on Al Ittihad of Egypt, Stade Malien of Mali and Rivers Hoopers of Nigeria at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex.

Here are some of the special features of the Kalahari Conference 2025:

YOUNGEST vs OLDEST PLAYERS

The Kalahari Conference will see some familiar faces in action, but there will also be plenty of newcomers, leaving us with the dilemma of the youngest versus the oldest.

And a quick glance at the final lists reveals that FUS Rabat's Soufiane Kourdou is the oldest player in the competition at 39. At the other end of the age scale is Al Ittihad's Matong Muorwel, who turned 17 last February.

BAL CHAMPION IN ACTION IN RABAT

Five years after the inception of the BAL, only a few players have claimed the title of BAL Champion.

One of those players is Anas Mahmoud, the only 2025 Kalahari Conference player to have lifted the BAL trophy in 2021.

As well as helping Zamalek to the 2021 BAL title, Mahmoud also took home the Defensive Player of the Year award.

CARRYING THE ROAD TO BAL FLAG

Of the four teams taking part in the Kalahari Conference in Rabat, Stade Malien are the only ones to have qualified for the BAL through the Road to BAL qualifying stages. The other three teams qualified automatically by winning their respective national leagues last year.

Speaking to the BAL , Stade Malien power forward Mamadou Doucoure said the Malian champions were only the underdogs on paper.

"I don't think there is any advantage or disadvantage in being the only team in this conference to have played in the Road to BAL [qualifiers]. At the end of the day, we are here in Rabat to do the same or better. We came here to compete. We are here to prove that we belong in this league. We will treat every game as our last. It's going to be tough. We have one goal in mind and that is to go to South Africa in June.”

WHO ARE THE COACHES?

All four Kalahari Conference teams are led by local former players from their respective countries.

Ahmed Soliman, 58, a 1988 Seoul Olympian with Egypt, returned to his beloved Al Ittihad last year after two decades as a coach in the United Arab Emirates to lead them to the 2024 Egypt Super League title.

Kanoute Boubacar, 51, is a former Mali international turned coach with an impressive resume. The former AfroBasket star and prolific scorer is currently the assistant coach of Mali's senior men's team. He served as an assistant of Stade Malien during the 2023 BAL season.

Said El Bouzidi led his native Morocco to a fourth-place finish at the 2017 FIBA AfroBasket. It was Morocco's best result in the history of the competition in the last two decades.

Before taking over AS Sale in the inaugural BAL season, the 57-year-old led the club to the 2017 FIBA African Champions Cup title, the predecessor to the BAL.

Rivers Hoopers boss Ogoh Odaudu is a former Nigeria national team player .

The 43-year-old former point guard is in his third BAL season, having coached the Port Harcourt-based side in the inaugural BAL season before leading them to a third-place finish last season.

Odaudu, who has held several coaching positions with the Nigerian national teams, was named BAL Coach of the Year in 2024.

FORMER NBA PLAYER IN THE 2025 KALAHARI CONFERENCE

George King recently joined Egyptian champions Al Ittihad.

The 31-year-old is the only player in the 2025 Kalahari Conference to have played in the NBA.

The 2016 Pac-12 Most Improved Player counts the Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks among his former NBA employers.

BAL ELEVATE PLAYERS

The BAL Elevate program returns for its fourth edition with four prospects from the NBA Academy Africa will look to showcase their skill during this season.

Matong Muorwel (Al Ittihad; South Sudan), Yakhya Diop (FUS Rabat; Senegal), David Ugonna Ike (Rivers Hoopers; Nigeria) and Ousseynou Sambe (Stade Malien; Senegal) are the first four players from the Elevate program to take to the court this season.