The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has announced that its sixth season will tip off on Friday, March 27, 2026, at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, with the season concluding at the 2026 BAL Finals on Sunday, May 31, at BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
The 2026 BAL season will feature 12 club teams from 12 African countries, who will compete in a total of 42 games across three host cities, Pretoria, Rabat in Morocco, and Kigali.
The teams will be divided into two conferences of six teams each, with each conference playing a 15-game group phase. In the Kalahari Conference, games will take place in Pretoria from March 27 to April 5, while the Sahara Conference group phase will be held at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat from April 24 to May 3.
Following the group phase, eight teams from across both conferences will qualify for the Playoffs, scheduled to run from May 22 to May 31 in Kigali, where the season champion will be crowned.
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BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall said the return to South Africa, Morocco and Rwanda reflects the strong sporting cultures and rapidly growing basketball ecosystems in those countries.
“Returning to South Africa, Morocco and Rwanda for our sixth season speaks to the strong sporting cultures and rapidly growing basketball ecosystems in those countries,” Fall said. “The BAL continues to inspire fans across the continent and drive opportunities and global recognition for African talent.”
FIBA Africa President, Anibal Manave described the league’s growth as a testament to its influence across the continent.
“As we approach the tip-off of the sixth Basketball Africa League season, we can celebrate the league’s growing impact and the way this competition continues to elevate the game across the region,” Manave said.
Beyond the on-court action, the BAL will continue to celebrate the intersection of basketball and African culture through music, fashion, lifestyle and entertainment, with appearances from leading celebrities and influencers. The league will also roll out basketball development and social impact programmes across the three host markets, as well as in Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria and Senegal.
These initiatives will include youth, coach and referee clinics, children’s literacy and education projects, media networking events, and camps and workshops for young women under the BAL4HER platform, which promotes gender equality within African sports.
Rwanda Development Board will return as a BAL Foundational Partner, alongside other partners including Afreximbank, Air Senegal, Amazon Web Services, Castle Lite, the French Embassy in Senegal and RwandAir.
The announcement comes after Libya’s Alahli Tripoli made history by becoming the first Libyan club to win the BAL title on June 14, 2025.
The 2025 season reached audiences in 214 countries and territories in 17 languages, set an attendance record of over 140,000 fans and generated more than 1.2 billion impressions across NBA and BAL social media platforms.
The 12 teams that will compete in the 2026 BAL season, as well as additional details, will be announced at a later date.
