The second Basketball Africa League (BAL) season begins on March 5 with seven new teams and four new countries.
Five teams from the inaugural BAL season are returning, led by defending champions Zamalek of Egypt, Angola’s Petro de Luanda, Morocco’s AS Salé and Tunisia’s US Monastir, who all earned their spots by winning their respective African leagues, while Cameroon’s F.A.P. came through the BAL qualifying tournaments.
The seven new teams are Rwanda Energy Group (Rwanda), Dakar Université Club (Senegal), BC Espoir Fukash (Democratic Republic of Congo), Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club (Guinea), CFV – Beira (Mozambique), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa) and Cobra Sport (South Sudan).
Each of the new teams secured a place in the 2022 season by winning BAL qualifying tournaments except for Dakar Université Club which qualified by virtue of winning its national league.
The teams will be divided into two groups – the Sahara and Nile Conferences – with their respective matches being held in Senegal and Egypt. The Sahara Conference matches will be held at the Dakar Arena from March 5-15 while the Nile Conference matches will be staged at the Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 9-19.
The top four teams from each conference will advance to the BAL Playoffs, which will feature a single-elimination tournament and Finals at Rwanda’s Kigali Arena from May 21-28.
Overall, 38 games will be played across three cities over three months.
“We are thrilled to welcome seven new teams and four new countries into the second season of the BAL,” BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall said.
The BAL season tips off with Dakar Université Club playing Seydou Legacy Athlétique Club.