What to Know about the 2023 BAL Season

The wait for the third season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) is almost over and we bring you what you need to know about the league’s expanded third season.

From the schedule, teams’ BAL history to host cities, find your guide for the 2023 BAL Season.

Just like the last BAL Season, the 2023 BAL campaign will tip off in the Senegalese capital of Dakar, and will finish almost three months later in the heart of Africa city of Kigali.

The twelve teams, representing twelve African countries, will be divided into conferences - Sahara and Nile.

The Sahara Conference group phase will be from March 11-21 at Dakar Arena in the Senegalese capital, while the Nile Conference campaign will run from April 26 to May 6 at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo.

Each Conference will play 15 games, and the clubs that finish in the top four places from the Sahara and Nile Conference will qualify for the 2023 BAL Playoffs and Finals.

There will be eight Playoff Games, with the new champions being crowned kings of Africa on Saturday, May 27.

Hosts of the Sahara Conference, AS Douanes (Senegal) will go up against Abidjan Basket Club (Cote d’Ivoire), US Monastir (Tunisia), Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Stade Malien (Mali) and Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda) in the regular season.

The first game of the 2023 BAL Season will see AS Douanes take on debutant Abidjan Basket Club on Saturday, March 11.

Among the five BAL debutants are Egypt champions Al Ahly who will play in front of their home fans in the Nile Conference, which includes Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), City Oilers (Uganda), Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique), Petro de Luanda (Angola) and Seydou Legacy Athletique Club (Guinea).

“There is incredible momentum leading up to the third BAL season, and each of the 12 teams have fought hard to earn their spot through intense competition,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. “We are very excited to see the on-court action tip off next month in Dakar and look forward to delivering world-class basketball and entertainment to our passionate fans across Africa and around the world.”

FIBA Africa President and BAL Board President Anibal Manave noted: “Judging from the quality of the teams that qualified through the Road to the BAL tournaments which ended in November last year, we are confident that fans and viewers will be treated to top-tier basketball that reflects the caliber of the talent we have on the continent.”

The five BAL debutants are Kwara Falcons (Nigeria), Abidjan Basket Club (Cote d’Ivoire), Stade Malien (Mali), Al Ahly (Egypt), and City Oilers (Uganda).

The champions of Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tunisia qualify automatically to the BAL while the remaining six teams earn their tickets through a FIBA-run Road to BAL Qualifiers.

Stade Malien, City Oilers, Cape Town Tigers, Ferroviario da Beira, Abidjan Basket Club and Seydou Legacy Athletique Club clinched the Road to BAL tickets.

Since BAL’s inception in 2021, 16 countries have been represented in the competition, but this figure has risen to 18 as Uganda and Cote d’Ivoire will be represented for the first time in Africa’s premier clubs’ basketball competition.