VIDEO: BAL boss on what Visit Rwanda partnership extension means

In a remarkable development, the Basketball Africa League (BAL) has renewed its partnership with Rwanda Development Board (RDB), allowing the country to continue to host the competition, including the playoffs and finals, in 2024, 2026 and 2028. Announced on Monday, June 19, the multi-year partnership extension will see ‘Visit Rwanda’- the country’s marketing and tourism initiative - continue as a foundational and host partner of the BAL. ALSO READ: PHOTOS: Rwanda, BAL announce multi-year partnership extension Times Sport had a chat with BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall where he shed light on what the deal means for both parties and what to expect during the next five years. Excerpts: Three years ago, Rwanda and BAL signed a three-year partnership agreement making the country an official founding and host partner of the tourney. Take us through the journey? It has been a tremendous journey and, overall, very successful. We have been very pleased with the events that we staged here. The Rwanda Development Board, and Rwanda as a country, have been a tremendous host, starting with launching the league amidst the pandemic in 2021 when we played in a bubble. This was the only place where we could do it after looking at different options. I think, from the first year, we only got better every year. Coming into this third season, we thought it was going to be our most competitive season to date and we were not disappointed. The games were extremely competitive. We have local heroes emerge from different teams...these are players from Africa, some who have never been out of the continent. This league was meant to be a platform where this talent could be showcased. So, there is growing interest we see from fans, not only across Africa but around the world. In the past three years Rwanda has become a destination, in May, where people come to enjoy the basketball games and all the ancillary events that are organized to manifest what we think sports can do as a contributor of the GDP of a country in terms of tourism here, people wanting to come and visit and to do other activities. The league is a catalyst for us to really build an economic growth engine that would create employment, not just on the court, but also off the court. How do you plan on capitalizing on these gains? Now, for the next five years, the goal is to continue to build on the momentum; to build on incredible stories that have emerged over the brief history of the league, and continue to expand the footprint. We are going to come to Rwanda for three out of the five years for the finals, where we will look at other markets where we would host the finals for the first time. I know we're going to continue to attract top talent from around the world. We have seen that every year, but most importantly, we're going to continue to retain elite talent from the continent. We have seen young players playing in other parts of the world who are coming back, and that's going to undoubtedly have a positive effect on local leagues. That's what we want to see. We want the leagues in Rwanda or Senegal or Angola, South Africa, Egypt, etc to continue to be strong because the stronger those local leagues are, the stronger our league is going to be. You have got to win your national league in order to qualify to come to the Basketball Africa League. The agreement shows that Rwanda will host some conference games. Is there a particular name yet? Well, right now we have two conferences. We have the Sahara Conference which we have played in Dakar for the past two years, and the Nile Conference which we have played in Cairo for the last two years. But we are looking at how to innovate just to make adjustments to have a more compelling product. So we would, in the next few weeks or months, do some further announcements in terms of that. It may be a slightly different format that we utilize next year but, at the end of the day, we always look to do what will best position the Basketball Africa League for maximum success. The BAL has also recently introduced a number of side events that have left fans yearning for more. What should we expect on this end? Look, I think, first of all, committing to being here for the next five years is a big step. With that big step we are looking to maximize the potential of the relationships. So we are really open to exploring ideas. We are going to continue to stay engaged with Clare (Akamanzi) and her office – the Rwanda Development Board– Minister Mimosa and RwandAir CEO. Comments and feedback that are very positive from people who came from all across Africa and also around the world. Continuing to showcase and market to the African diaspora, to give them reasons to want to come and visit Africa and hopefully invest also in the infrastructure and in the youth because, at the end of the day, that remains a priority. How do we continue to build talent, build capacity among young people? I think that, as you build and as you continue to grow your ambitions, anything becomes possible. What are your thoughts on introducing the women BAL? Like I say, it's the same. Everything is going to be positive, we are building forward momentum. First, we have got to make sure that there are more girls participating in the sport. We have to continue to raise the profile of the women's game, to grow the women's game, to grow more talent. I think we talked about it with our partners, focusing on building the talent base. Building a talent pool, I think, is going to be a key priority because, in order to sustain a league, you need to have competitive teams across many countries. Right now, there are certain countries where I know the women's game is extremely popular, but we have got to continue to grow that number. There have also been critics around having the BAL Combine overseas. How do you respond to them? Yes. But first of all, the way our rosters are structured, you have eight out of 12 players that are local players. So I think our focus is more to engage with local teams who develop local talent. If you look at the teams that are successful in the BAL, they all have stable local leagues with a decent local talent. Look at our first winner with Zamalek from Egypt. They have a professional league that runs consistently, even their players go to the US to play college basketball. When they finish, they come back to play for Zamalek or Al Ahly and all the clubs across the Premier League in Egypt. And then, US Monastir that won the league in the second season, same thing. Tunisia has a stable league. And, this year, you had AS Douanes from Senegal in the finals. Their league may not be as professional as those in other countries, but it's a league that has been running for a long time with clubs like AS Douanes which have experience competing at that level. So for me really as far as developing the local talent base in Africa, we're going to support, we're going to be a catalyst, but we have got to make sure that the teams take that on. Also with the NBA Academy here, we are identifying talent and developing them, and being connected to BAL teams through the BAL Elevate program. So we think, there is enough being done here on the continent to make sure that we have a high quality of local players in the rosters. And, the other thing I want to highlight is, when we stage the Combine outside of Africa, it's a way to engage with fans across the African diaspora. When we chose to play in Paris last year, there were a lot of players who are of African parentage who came, whether they lived in the UK or Germany, or Belgium and obviously France. This Combine is going to take place in many other places. Ultimately, we will see when is the right time to host it on the continent. Parting shot? Again, I just want to thank everybody who's worked tremendously hard to bring this partnership extension into fruition. And we are super excited to be coming back to Kigali for our finals in May next year. And also to continue to stage basketball Africa League games in Kigali. And we're looking forward to seeing its impact not just on the game but also on the economies.

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VIDEO: BAL boss on what Visit Rwanda partnership extension means