The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has officially announced that its highly anticipated fifth season will begin on Saturday, April 5, 2025, at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco. The season will conclude with the 2025 BAL Finals on Saturday, June 14, at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa. This season will be historic, as it marks the first time the league will hold games in Morocco and the first time the BAL Finals will take place in South Africa.
The 2025 BAL season will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries, competing in 48 games across four cities: Rabat (Morocco), Dakar (Senegal), Kigali (Rwanda), and Pretoria (South Africa).
These 12 teams will be divided into three conferences, with each conference consisting of four teams. Each team will play a 12-game group stage, facing the other teams in their conference twice.
- The Kalahari Conference group phase will run from April 5 to April 13 in Rabat.
- The Sahara Conference group phase will take place from April 26 to May 4 in Dakar, Senegal.
- The Nile Conference group phase will occur from May 17 to May 25 in Kigali, Rwanda.
After the group stages, eight teams will advance to the playoffs in Pretoria, which will begin on Friday, June 6, and culminate with the 2025 BAL Finals on June 14. Fans can now register their interest in tickets for the games in all four cities via the BAL website.
BAL President, Amadou Gallo Fall, expressed excitement about the league’s growth over the past four seasons, noting the improvements in competition, attendance, and fan engagement. He emphasized that the fifth season would build on this momentum, showcasing the talent and passion for basketball in Africa, with the addition of Morocco and South Africa as host locations.
Anibal Manave, President of FIBA Africa, also praised the league’s growth, particularly the addition of the Kalahari Conference, which expands the league into a new African country. He highlighted the increasing competitiveness of the league, which continues to raise the profile of basketball on the continent.
For the 2025 season, the national champions from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, and Tunisia will automatically qualify for the BAL. The remaining five teams will earn their spots through the Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments held across Africa from October to December 2024.
In addition to the games, the BAL will continue its focus on youth development and social impact programs, including initiatives such as Jr. NBA events, coaching and referee clinics, environmental service days, the fourth BAL Innovation Summit, networking sessions for media members, and various camps and workshops aimed at advancing gender equality in sports through the BAL4HER program.
Key partners, including Rwanda Development Board, NIKE, Jordan Brand, and Wilson, will return as BAL Foundational Partners. The league’s marketing partners also include Castle Lite, Hennessy, and RwandAir.
The 2024 season was a major success, with Angola’s Petro de Luanda becoming the first sub-Saharan African team to win the BAL Finals. The season reached fans in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of over 120,000 fans, and generated more than 1.2 billion impressions across social media.
Further details about the 2025 BAL season will be announced in the coming months.
