For its inaugural season, the NBA- backed Basketball Africa League (BAL) unveiled host cities on Tuesday with Kigali, Rwanda, as the named host city for the first semi-final and championship games.
Cairo, Egypt ; Dakar, Senegal ; Lagos, Nigeria ; Luanda, Angola ; Rabat, Morocco and a Tunisian town, Tunis or Monastir, were announced as locations for regular-season BAL matches.
The BAL, with 12 club teams from across Africa, is scheduled to start playing in March 2020.
“Today’s announcements mark another important milestone as we head into what will be a historic first season,” BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said.
The 12 teams will be split into two six-team conferences, each playing games in three of the six host towns
Each team will play five regular-season matches, with the top three clubs advancing to the playoffs in each division.
The “Super Six” will play a round- robin format to determine the BAL Final Four that will advance to Kigali for the single-game elimination semi-finals and final in late spring 2020.
The BAL also announced that Nike and the Jordan Brand would each provide the official uniforms and equipment for six of the clubs in the first company relationship of the league.
In February, the NBA announced its first partnership to run a league outside North America, working alongside the Fiba governing body in the globe
Both intend to dedicate economic assistance and resources to train African players, coaches and referees.