RWANDA’s REG has been drawn against Tunisian powerhouse US-Monastir and four other teams in the Sahara Conference of the regular season of the 2022 Basketball Africa League (BAL), which gets underway on March 5. Aside from REG and US-Monastir, Sahara Conference also features AS Sale (Morocco), Dakar Universite Club (Senegal), Seydou Legacy Athletique Club (Guinea), and Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique). REG gained automatic qualification courtesy of the fact that Rwanda will be hosting some of the games. In total, 12 teams will participate in the tournament. The teams have been divided in two groups, namely Sahara Conference and Nile Conference. BAL champions Zamalek of Egypt are in Nile Conference alongside BC Espoir Fukash (DR Congo), Cape Town Tigers (South Africa), Cobra Sports Club (South Sudan), FAP (Cameroon) and Petro de Luanda (Angola). Each conference will play a 15-game group phase during which every team will face the other five teams in its conference once. The Sahara Conferences group phase will take place at the Dakar Arena from March 5-15, while the Nile Conferences group phase will take place at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo from April 9-19. The top four teams from each conference will qualify for the BAL playoffs, which will feature a single-elimination tournament and finals at Kigali Arena from May 21-28. We are thrilled to welcome seven new teams and four new countries into the second season of the BAL, said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. Defending Champion Zamalek will anchor the five returning teams, after representing the BAL in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup this month in Cairo. “The competition to bring home the 2022 BAL Championship Trophy is heating up, and we are excited that more fans will have an opportunity to watch the games live in three world-class African cities. To BAL fans across the continent and around the world - Game On! We are excited for the tip-off of this highly anticipated season two of the BAL, said FIBA Africa and BAL Board President Anibal Manave. The Road to BAL 2022, which was successfully completed at the end of last year, provided fans with some exciting close games and captivating action. We are optimistic that this expanded BAL season will be a huge success. Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the 2022 BAL season by winning their respective national leagues. The remaining six teams, which come from Cameroon, the DR Congo, Guinea, Mozambique, South Africa and South Sudan, secured their participation through the Road to BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Regional Office Africa across the continent. BAL Sahara Conference AS Sale (Morocco) Dakar Universite Club (Senegal) Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique) REG (Rwanda) SLAC (Guinea) US Monastir (Tunisia) BAL Nile Conference BC Espoir Fukash (DR Congo) Cape Town Tigers (South Africa) Cobra Sports Club (South Sudan) FAP (Cameroon) Petro de Luanda (Angola) Zamalek (Egypt)
