Basketball Africa League Announces 12 Teams and Group Phase Schedule for 2026 Season

 

– 12 BAL Teams Include First-Ever Participant from Tanzania and First-Time Participants from Côte d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and Tunisia –

– Sixth BAL Season Will Tip Off on March 27 in South Africa; Tickets on Sale Now –

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) (www.BAL.NBA.com) today announced the 12 teams and group phase schedule (https://apo-opa.co/4aM5xVL) for the 2026 BAL season, which will tip off on Friday, March 27 at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. 

The league’s sixth season will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a total of 42 games across the Kalahari Conference group phase from March 27 – Sunday, April 5 in Pretoria, the Sahara Conference group phase from Friday, April 24 – Sunday, May 3 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco, and the Playoffs and Finals from Friday, May 22 – Sunday, May 31 at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

The 12 teams include Dar City – the first-ever BAL participant from Tanzania – first-time BAL participants JCA Kings (Côte d’Ivoire), Maktown Flyers (Nigeria), Johannesburg Giants (South Africa) and Club Africain (Tunisia), 2024 BAL champion Petro de Luanda (Angola) – the only team to have qualified for all six BAL seasons – and 2023 BAL champion Al Ahly (Egypt). 

Below is the complete list of the 12 participating teams by conference:

Johannesburg Giants (South Africa)*	Fath Union Sport Rabat (FUS Rabat; Morocco)
Al Ahly Ly (Libya)	Al Ahly (Egypt)
Armée Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball Club (APR; Rwanda)	ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal)
Dar City (Tanzania)*	Club Africain (Tunisia)*
Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya)	JCA Kings (Côte d’Ivoire)*
Petro de Luanda (Angola)	Maktown Flyers (Nigeria)*

*First-time BAL participant

“Welcoming five new teams into the BAL family is a powerful sign of the league’s continued growth, the impact it is having on the African basketball ecosystem, and the incredible talent developing across the continent,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.  “We look forward to engaging our passionate fans in South Africa, Morocco, Rwanda and those watching across Africa and around the world as we continue to establish the BAL as the continent’s preeminent sport and entertainment property.”

This season, the national league champions from seven countries – Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia – automatically qualified for the BAL.  The other five teams qualified through the Road to the BAL (https://apo-opa.co/3ZXbskA) qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the continent from October – December 2025. 

Each conference will play a 15-game group phase during which each team will face the other five teams in its conference once. In the season opener, APR will face Al Ahly Ly at 4:00 p.m. CAT.  In the second game, the Johannesburg Giants will take on Dar City at 7:00 p.m. CAT.  Tickets for the Kalahari Conference group phase in Pretoria are on sale now at Ticketmaster.za (https://apo-opa.co/3MVtSPs). 

Eight teams from across the two conferences will qualify for the Playoffs in Kigali.  Tickets for the Sahara Conference group phase in Rabat and the Playoffs and Finals will be available soon. Fans can register their interest in tickets at BAL.NBA.com (https://apo-opa.co/4swTSjF). Fans who purchase tickets will also have free access to the BAL Fan Zone at each arena.

Additional information about the 2026 BAL season will be announced in the coming weeks.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Basketball Africa League (BAL).

Contact:
Marie-Pierre Anamba Onana 
Basketball Africa League
+221 78 637 70 62
​Manamba@theBAL.com

About the BAL:
The Basketball Africa League (BAL), a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and NBA Africa, is a professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa that will tip off its sixth season in March 2026.  Headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, the BAL builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Africa has organized across the continent and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. Fans can follow the BAL (@theBAL) on Facebook (https://apo-opa.co/40vps57), Instagram (https://apo-opa.co/4aPIFmS), Threads (https://apo-opa.co/4aTr5ye), X (https://apo-opa.co/4cbQZ2J), and YouTube (https://apo-opa.co/3MZQw9z) and register their interest in receiving more information at www.BAL.NBA.com.