The Basketball Africa League Tips Off
May 2021. The NBA's first league outside North America
On 16 February 2019, during NBA All-Star weekend, the NBA and FIBA announced plans for a professional league for Africa's top clubs: the Basketball Africa League, or BAL. It was the first time the NBA would run a league outside North America.
The first season was planned for 2020 but was postponed twice because of the COVID-19 pandemic. It finally tipped off on 16 May 2021 at the Kigali Arena in Rwanda, with 12 club teams from across the continent.
On 30 May 2021, Zamalek of Egypt beat US Monastir of Tunisia 76 to 63 to win the first title. Since then, champions have come from Tunisia, Egypt, Angola, Libya and Rwanda.
What changed
Clubs had to build their rosters mostly from local players, with at most four foreign players and no more than two from outside Africa. That gave African players and coaches a top professional stage at home, with games broadcast around the world.