The 2024 Basketball Africa League (BAL) playoff games are a day away from tipoff in Kigali as eight teams set their sights on the coveted championship. For the first time, however, no Rwandan team is taking part in the playoffs after APR basketball club missed out on the ticket as they finished at the bottom of the Sahara Conference group phase held in Dakar, Senegal. In previous years, the BAL playoffs have been a lively affair, attracting big turnouts of basketball enthusiasts from Rwanda and across the world and it was not just the game that kept them coming, but also the vibrant atmosphere in the BK Arena. ALSO READ: Beyond the spectacle: Can Rwanda bridge gap between hosting and competing? Despite the turnout for the last three seasons, this year's playoffs are not making the buzz in the Rwandan capital as they previously did, with some attributing this to the absence of a Rwandan team in the finals. This is in contrast to last year when dozens of celebrities from across the world travelled to Kigali for the play-offs which had some match tickets sold out a day or less before tip time. Tickets for the opening match of BAL 2023 playoffs between then Rwandan representatives REG and current defending champions Al Ahly sold out 24 hours before. But, checking on Ticqet.rw, a local ticket-buying platform, hundreds, if not thousands, of seats are still available for Libya's Al Ahly Ly opening game against South Africa's Cape Town Tigers, despite the game being hours away. This, according to Kigali-based basketball fan Ana Christine Gakuba, might have been triggered by Rwanda's absence at the playoffs or simply the lack of basketball culture on the continent. However, Gakuba believes that Rwandans will still turn out in large numbers, as they have done in previous editions even when local teams were knocked out in the early stages of the playoffs. ALSO READ: Teams start to jet in ahead of BAL playoffs Patriots is the only Rwandan team to have made it far in the BAL, but even after its elimination, local fans still turned up at BK Arena for other games. This was also the case last year when REG failed us, but we still supported other teams, Gakuba told The New Times. The turnout, she said, is likely to change, but there are other interesting activities that are likely to attract Rwandans to the games, such as half-time performances, DJ sets and outdoor games, among others. If you look at the pictures from Sahara Conference held in Egypt, the turnout wasn't that impressive even though they had a representative at the games. Rwandans have embraced the basketball culture and I think they love the game and not just the teams playing, she added. However, for Rwandan sports journalist Sidick Nsengiyumva who covered the Sahara Conference in Dakar in May, APR's failure to make it to the playoffs will have a negative impact on the playoffs, not only in terms of attendance but also financially. A home team attracts a lot of people to buy tickets for its matches and APR not making it to the playoffs will cause drop in attendance for the BAL playoffs at BK Arena, said Nsengiyumva. Another thing, he said, APR is the most decorated team in the Rwanda Basketball League, which indicates that it would have drawn bigger crowds at the arena than REG and Patriots had they made it to the playoffs. The 2024 BAL playoffs, which tip off Friday, will feature performances by local and international music acts. Nigeria’s Adekunle Gold will grace the opening ceremony while a long lineup of Rwandan artists including The Ben, Chris Eazy, Ish Kevin, Kevin Kade, Ariel Wayz, Kivumbi King, Bwiza, Ishami Talent, Inganzi Ngari Cultural Troupe and Kenny Sol are all expected to perform throughout the competition. The playoffs have always promised huge crowds gathering to witness what African top basketball teams have to offer. With or without a Rwanda team, the competition will move. It’s high time Rwandans proved that they attend the games not just to support their home teams but for the love of the game. Will the BAL playoffs be the same at BK Arena without a Rwandan team? Time will tell!
