The Basketball Africa League (BAL) is to stop off at venues in three nations for an expanded schedule during 2022.
In the second season of the continent’s top club competition, which features the top 12 teams from 12 African countries, some 38 games will play be played in Senegal, Egypt and Rwanda over the course of three months.
The second BAL season will include 15 games at the 15,000-capacity Dakar Arena in Dakar, Senegal from March 5-15 and 15 games at the 5,200-seat Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 9-19. An eight-game playoffs and finals will be held at the 10,000-capacity Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda from May 21-28.
“After a successful and historic launch last spring, we are thrilled to be able to grow the BAL’s footprint in our second season,” said Gallo Fall, BAL’s president.
“Through this expanded competition format, we will bring more games to more countries across the continent, allowing new and returning fans to experience the excitement of this world-class league up close and in person.”
The competition was due to stage its inaugural season in 2020 with games played in six venues in six countries. It was postponed for a year due to Covid-19 and was ultimately played in its entirety in the Kigali Arena in Rwanda.
During the second BAL season, the 12 teams will be divided into two conferences of six teams each. Each conference will play a 15-game group phase during which each team will face the other five teams in its conference once. The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the BAL Playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds.
National league champions from 12 African countries will once again qualify for the second BAL season, including through the Road to BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Regional Office Africa across the continent from October to December 2021.
Organisers said tickets will go on sale in early 2022. New Fortress Energy (NFE), Rwanda Development Board (RDB), NIKE, Jordan Brand and Wilson will return as BAL Foundational Partners. The league’s roster of marketing partners also includes Flutterwave and Hennessy.
Image: Kirezi Arnaud / This file is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license / Cropped for size
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