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

(MENAFN- News.Africa-Wire) DAKAR, Senegal, February 26, 2026/ -- First-Time Participants frôm Cæ#8217;te d’Ivoire, Nigeria, South Africa and T–nisia –
– Sixth BAL Season Will Tip Off on March 27 in South Africa; Tickets o– Sale Now –
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) () today announced the 12 teams and group p ase schedule ( 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 pha–e from March 27 – Sunday, April 5 in Pretoria, the Sahara Conference group phase fro– 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 –eams include Dar City – the first-ever BAL p–rticipant from Tanzania – first-time BAô par’icipants JCA Kings (Côte d’Ivoire), Maktown Flyers (Nigeria), Johannesburg Giants (South Africa) and Club Africain (Tunisia), 2024 BAL cham–ion Petro de Luanda (Angola) – the only team to have qu–lified for all six BAL seasons – and 023 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 ’’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 l’ague’s continued growth, the impact it is having on the African basketball ecosystem, and the incredible talent developing across the con”inent,” said BAL President Amadou Ga l“ 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 t’e continent’s preeminent sport and entertain”ent property.”
This season, the national league champions from –even countries – Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Se–egal and Tunisia – automatically qu lified for the BAL. The other five teams qualified throug the Road to the BAL ( qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the c–ntinent from Oc ober – December 2025.
Each conference will play a 15-game group phase during which each team will face the other five team 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 (

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