It has been three seasons now since the Basketball Africa League (BAL), an NBA-backed showpiece, was introduced in Africa. The idea of the BAL had been there for quite some years until it came into place in 2021 when the first edition unfolded in Rwanda, bringing together 12 teams from 12 countries across the continent. Since then, the tournament has only been getting bigger while its fan base continues to grow significantly. ALSO READ: Al Ahly crowned BAL 2023 champions People who have been following BAL closely since its inception in 2021 are convinced that the competition has evolved tremendously in various aspects like organization, fan base and even on-court level of performances from participating teams. “The level has definitely gone up. You can see from the surprises we saw right from the conferences. In the Sahara Conference in Dakar, five teams were tied on three wins and two losses and ultimately then defending champions US Monastir failed to qualify for the finals in Kigali on point difference,” Usher Komugisha, a famous basketball journalist, told Times Sport. “In the Nile Conference, too, Petro de Luanda edged Al Ahly by one point in the most contested game in BAL history. Gerson Gonçalves with the buzzer. Ferroviaro de Beira and the Cape Town Tigers earned their qualification on the very last day,” she added. ALSO READ: BAL inaugural season winds up as Zamalek win tourney The fact that newcomers AS Douanes stunned pre-tournament favorites Petro de Luanda to book a place in the final is also something that stood out for the female sports journalist who has been contributing on ESPN as a commentator during the past two BAL seasons. “There is a new champion of the BAL in Al Ahly who are debutants. That demonstrates the growth of the league competitively,” she noted. ALSO READ: PHOTOS - BAL 2022: US Monastir crowned champions after comeback win over Petro de Luanda The BAL organisation structure also evolved from teams competing in a bubble during the first season in Kigali, to expanding the competition to three countries during the past two seasons. Egypt and Senegal have been hosting Nile and Sahara Conferences while finalists would head to Kigali, Rwanda for the playoffs. “The caravan has definitely given the BAL an intriguing aspect - one that showcases the continent in its entire beauty. For the Sahara Conference to be in Dakar, Nile Conference in Cairo and the finals in Kigali for a second year in a row is important for the league to embrace the sporting excellence of these countries, their culture, history, food and people,” Komugisha explained. Besides what takes place on the court, the BAL’s deliberate effort to continue to work with the players on growing who they are, especially off of the court, is a good move according to her. “The BAL Advance program which I was honoured to moderate in Kigali last week is an opportunity for the players to figure out what they want to do as they play professionally and after they retire. They were able to speak to sports industry leaders that are already working with the BAL and others from across the world that can relate with their situations,” she said. Jean Luc Cyusa, an avid fan of basketball in Rwanda also has good things to say about the evolution of the BAL since the first edition. “A lot has changed since the first edition which happened with all the Covid-19 restrictions, now the teams come more prepared with high quality basketball. The physicality level has also gone up which makes it really difficult for any team to win because all teams have very good players,” he said. “This year’s edition is the best in terms of organization and preparedness. World-class celebrities and former NBA players attended the games plus sideline impactful events such as the BAL FOR HER, innovation in sports panel discussions were all well prepared and spoke to the spirit of what BAL is trying to achieve in Africa,” he added. For him, the fact that almost all the games were sold out and everyone in the city wanted to go watch the games including those who are not basketball fans was outstanding. “BAL created new fans for the game of Basketball because of the quality of the games and the entertainment displayed during the games,” he noted. BAL and basketball development Nathalie Munyampenda, also a keen follower of basketball in Rwanda, echoed Cyusa’s positive comments about the tournament, and specifically how it is impacting sports development. “I will say that the community has become much more interested in watching and attending league games as a result of the BAL and this has challenged owners of local teams to step up investments in professionalizing basketball and building infrastructure,” she said. “The government's investments in basketball infrastructure will pay off in the long run. What needs to happen now is for parents to encourage children to play basketball from a young age. Now that there is infrastructure, this will continue to grow outside of Kigali,” she added. She also expressed her delight at the fact that local fans have really grown in terms of attendance. The way people were hunting for tickets to BAL is a good indication. For Leonard Solms, a freelance journalist at ESPN, the teams representing their countries at the BAL have become stronger because local leagues have become more competitive with the teams showing a growing hunger to play BAL. “There are more teams fielding competitive sides and teams are learning how to build more complete rosters. Most importantly, I feel the local leagues are already strengthening because everyone wants to get to the BAL,” he said. In addition, he noted, every year there’s more interest from fans and more interest from the media. In my own country, South Africa, the Cape Town Tigers are now being covered on every major news network, which was not the case two years ago even. Worth investing in Solms heaped praise on the NBA for investing in African Basketball and giving African a platform to show what they can offer to the game. That way the best exports can play in the NBA sooner or later. Obviously, he said, Africa has obstacles to overcome because the continent’s resources have been historically abused and that same mentality has filtered into sport while major sporting organisations sometimes look at Africa as a place to take from rather than to invest into. “But I commend the NBA because although they have their flaws like any organisation, their approach has truly been fundamentally different to most. They have realized that if they focus on growing the game within Africa, then there’s more to take for the NBA and also more to take for African fans. It’s a win-win situation,” he noted.
