The 2026 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season won't start until early 2026 where a number of teams from across Africa are now set to compete for a place in the elite competition. Over the next five weeks, basketball clubs from across Africa will compete in the qualifier tournament, dubbed the 'Road to BAL'. Here are key facts about the 2026 Road to BAL tournament. When is the 2026 Road to BAL taking place? Action in all five groups is scheduled to run from October 17 to 29. This will be followed by the Road to BAL Elite 16 round, scheduled for November 4–23. Host cities Five African cities have been selected as host cities of the group phase of the 2026 Road to BAL tournament. They include Bamako (Mali), Kinshasa (DR Congo), Dar es Salaam (Tanzania), Lusaka (Zambia) and Abidjan (Cote d'Ivoire). ALSO READ: Burundi’s Dynamo BBC withdraws from 2026 “Road to BAL” Competition system The group phase of the 2026 Road to BAL is divided into Division East and Division West, with teams split into Groups A, B, C, D and E. Each group consists of three or six teams. Meet the teams and groups Division West – Group A, Bamako, Mali (October 17-19): Centre de Reference de Basketball de Tombouctou (CRBT) (Mali), Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya), AS Douanes (Burkina Faso) and Centre Fédéral de Guinée (Guinea). Division West – Group B, Abidjan, Cote d'Ivoire (October 17-19): Jeunesse Club d'Abidjan (Cote D'ivoire), Elan Coton BCC (Benin), Spintex Knights (Ghana) and LPRC Oilers (Liberia). Division West – Group C, Kinshasa, DR Congo (October 19-21): ASB New Generation (DR Congo), New Tech Bantdu (Central African Republic) and Moanda BB (Gabon). Division East - Group D, Dar es Salaam, Tanzania (October 17-19): Dar City Basketball (Tanzania), Namuwongo Blazers (Uganda) and Djabal Club (COMOROS). Division East – Group E, Lusaka, Zambia (October 22-26): Matero Magic (Zambia), Bravehearts Basketball Club (Malawi), Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique), Basket Hounds (Zimbabwe), Johannesburg Giants (South Africa) and Dolphins Basketball Club (Botswana). All about the 2026 Road to BAL - Elite 16 As its name suggests, the Elite 16 round consists of 16 teams. In addition to the two host teams, who earn automatic qualification for this round, the other teams include those that finish first and second in Groups A, B, C, D and E, the three best third-placed teams from the Group Phase and three wildcards. At the time of writing, the two Elite 16 host teams have yet to be officially confirmed. What's at stake? The finalist teams from the Elite 16 West and East Divisions will secure the four automatic places in the 2026 BAL season. They will be joined by representative teams from Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.
