NBA to start pro basketball league in Africa from 2020

The NBA’s first professional basketball league outside of North America will begin in Africa next year.

NBA Hall of Fame player, Nigeria’s Hakeem Olajuwon, left, in action for Toronto in 2001. Picture: AP

The NBA’s first professional basketball league outside of North America will begin in Africa next year, the NBA and the sport’s global governing body have announced.

Basketball Africa League (BAL) will feature 12 teams from across Africa and will launch in January 2020, the NBA and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) said yesterday (AEDT).

The NBA and FIBA said they plan to conduct qualification tournaments later this year to identify the 12 teams that would represent several African countries, including Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.

No more than two teams from the same country will play in the league.

“The Basketball Africa League is an important next step in our continued development of the game of basketball in Africa,” NBA commissioner Adam Silver said in a statement.

“Combined with our other programs on the continent, we are committed to using basketball as an economic engine to create new opportunities in sports, media and technology across Africa.”

The NBA will also introduce direct-to-consumer offerings of NBA games for fans in Africa, including features and localised content.

In addition, the NBA and FIBA have pledged financial support for the infrastructure of basketball in Africa, including skills camps for players, coaches and referees.

More than 80 current and former players from Africa or with direct family ties to the continent, including Hall of Famers Hakeem Olajuwon (Nigeria) and Dikembe Mutombo (Democratic Republic of Congo), have competed in the NBA.

Reuters