The 5th season of the African Basketball tournament starts in April 2025 in Rabat

Thursday 21st November 2024 02:22 PM

Five years after taking part in the launch of the first professional Basketball tournament in Africa, Morocco is preparing to reach a new level, by hosting the Kalahari Conference, marking the start of the fifth season of the Basketball Africa League. Fruit of the collaboration between the NBA and FIBA, the BAL has continued to gain stripes over the years. The arrival of the competition on the lands of the Kingdom, with the organization of the first part of the group stage at the Moulay Abdellah Complex (April 5-13, 2025), represents an opportunity for all stakeholders.

For the second consecutive edition, Fath Union Sports represents Morocco in the competition. The Fussists face three other teams twice, during the Kalahari Conference. The objective is to finish among the first two in the group and thus advance to the final phase, organized in Pretoria (June 6-14). The Sahara Conference is scheduled for Dakar from April 26 to May 4. While the Nil Conference is organized in Kigali, from May 17 to 25.

A continental tournament and a string of parallel events

For several months, BAL officials have visited the Kingdom on numerous occasions, where they were received by FRMBB officials and the authorities, in order to refine all the details concerning the organization on the floor of the covered room of the Moulay Abdellah Complex, as well as taking stock of other infrastructure (hotel offerings, airport, conference spaces, etc.). Indeed, the BAL organizes in parallel with the tournament, a whole battery of events, with the common objective of contributing to the fulfillment and development of African youth. “We are very enthusiastic about the idea of bringing the competition to Rabat for the first time,” said BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall to “Matin”. The feedback is very positive and we are counting on this first in Rabat to continue to grow the BAL.”

In addition to the sporting aspect, the BAL brings in its baggage a multitude of parallel events, such as “BAL4Her”, the Innovation Summit, training for coaches… “the BAL is also a platform to promote all the positive aspects and the potential that exists in Africa. This is why going to Morocco allows us to have the same impact and continue to create interest around the League. The BAL is a showcase for Africa.”

For Will Mbiakop, author of the book “Economics of Sport in Africa” and executive director of the African Creativity and Sport Institute (ASCI), “the BAL offers economic opportunities for players in the ecosystem. This will help to get closer to the Road-to-5 ideal where sport will contribute to 5% of African GDP. Currently, the sports economy in Africa “represents only 0.5% of continental GDP,” adds our interlocutor.

Created in 2019 thanks to the partnership between the NBA and FIBA, the Basketball Africa League has reached basketball fans in 214 countries and territories by 2024. A record attendance was reached with a total exceeding 120,000 spectators present during the matches. In addition, the BAL generated 1.2 billion impressions across the social networks of the League and the NBA, which echoes it. The final format and composition of the different conferences will be announced later.

Morocco