The Basketball Africa League has confirmed that its sixth season will officially commence on March 27 at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, and will conclude with the 2026 BAL Finals on May 31 at the BK Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.
The upcoming season will showcase the continent’s top 12 club teams from 12 African nations, competing in a total of 42 games across Pretoria, Rabat, Morocco, and Kigali.
This year, the teams will be split into two conferences of six. Each conference will feature a 15-game group stage, where every team faces the other five teams in its group once.
The Kalahari Conference will run from March 27 to April 5 in Pretoria, while the Sahara Conference group stage is scheduled for April 24 to May 3 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat.
Following the group phases, eight teams across the two conferences will advance to the Playoffs in Kigali, running from May 22 to May 31.
“Returning to South Africa, Morocco and Rwanda for our sixth season speaks to the strong sporting cultures and rapidly growing basketball ecosystems in those countries,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall.
“The BAL continues to inspire fans across the continent and drive opportunities and global recognition for African talent. We look forward to welcoming fans to BAL games in all three markets and to showcasing incredible competition and energy on and off the court to a global audience when the season tips off.”
FIBA Africa President Anibal Manave added, “As we approach the tip off of the sixth Basketball Africa League season, we can celebrate the league’s growing impact and the way this competition continues to elevate the game across the region.”
He continued, “We also continue to see the importance of the Road to the BAL as a pathway that expands access and strengthens competition across the continent.”
In addition to the games, the league will partner with stakeholders to deliver basketball development and social impact programs in the three host countries, as well as Egypt, Kenya, Nigeria, and Senegal.
These initiatives will include youth, coach, and referee clinics, literacy and educational programs for children, media networking, and a series of camps and workshops for young women through BAL4HER, the league’s platform for promoting gender equality in African sports.
