Basketball: 22 clubs battle for a place in BAL 2024
The road to BAL 2024 begins this October and November with the qualifiers. Here are the teams and the schedule.
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The Basketball Africa League (BAL 2024) is about to return for a 4th consecutive edition. But before the finals, which will once again see the continent's best teams go head to head in Rwanda, the qualifiers, also known as the Road to BAL, will run from 2 October to 19 November 2023. The first round comes in October, followed by the Elite 16 in November. Teams that played in the last edition of the BAL will automatically qualify for the Elite 16, provided they earn the right to represent their countries in the qualifiers, and 22 clubs in total are in contention in this first round. The aim is the same for everyone: finish top of your group to secure a place in the Elite 16.
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For this edition, the first round of BAL 2024 will feature East and West divisions, with teams split into five groups. Each group will be based in one city. Benghazi (Libya) will host Group A, Yaoundé (Cameroon) will stage Group B, Dar es Salaam (Tanzania) Group C, Gaborone (Botswana) Group D and Antananarivo (Madagascar) Group E. Meanwhile, Abidjan and Johannesburg will host the two tournaments for the clubs qualified for the Elite 16 in November.
First goal: the Elite 16
Group E in Madagascar will get things under way, with qualifiers scheduled from 3 to 8 October. Groups A and B will then be played on the same dates, from 6 to 10 October. From 10 to 15 October, Group C matches will take place in Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania. Finally, Group D will bring the first round to a close, from 17 to 22 October.
It should be noted that Al Ahly (Egypt), the defending champions, AS Douanes (Senegal), runners-up in the last edition, and APR (Rwanda), who represent the host nation of BAL 2024, are through automatically to the finals. The same goes for Petro de Luanda (Angola), Stade Malien (Mali), US Monastir (Tunisia) and a club from Nigeria that is yet to be named.
The Road to the BAL groups
Group A: Al Ahly Benghazi (Libya), FUS Rabat (Morocco), AS Nigelec (Niger), Elan Coton (Benin)
Group B: FAP (Cameroon), Bangui Sporting Club (Central African Republic), Espoir BBC (Gabon), Lamantines (Chad), ASB Virunga (DR Congo)
Group C: Pazi BBC (Tanzania), Kenya Ports Authority (Kenya), Dynamo (Burundi), Sebeta City (Ethiopia)
Group D: Dolphins (Botswana), Bravehearts (Malawi), Unam Wolves (Namibia), Munali Suns (Zambia), JBC (Zimbabwe)
Group E: COSPN (Madagascar), Ushindzi Club (Comoros), Roche-Bois Warriors (Mauritius), Beau Vallon Heat (Seychelles)
The team finishing top of each group after the group stage will automatically qualify for the Elite 16.