Basketball: African game set for a busy 2023
Basketball: FIBA has unveiled the key dates in the African basketball calendar for 2023, with 12 months of action ahead on the continent
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The men's Basketball World Cup qualifiers will get the year under way in February (24-26). Angola and Egypt will host Groups E and F respectively. Group E leaders Ivory Coast (14 pts) have already qualified for the World Cup. Angola (12 pts), Cape Verde (11 pts), Nigeria (10 pts), Guinea (8 pts) and Uganda (8 pts) are the other teams in the group.
In Group F, South Sudan (17 pts), Egypt (16 pts), Senegal (15 pts), Tunisia (14 pts), DR Congo (13 pts) and Cameroon (11 pts) are in the mix. The South Sudanese are one win away from a historic qualification. Note that Africa will have 5 places at the World Cup: the top 2 teams in each group, plus the best 3rd-placed side (across both groups), qualify directly.
The World Cup group draw will take place on 9 April. Japan, the Philippines and Indonesia are the host nations. The tournament will run from 25 August to 10 September.
BAL takes centre stage for 3 months…
The Basketball Africa League is one of the flagship events in African basketball. This year, the 3rd season will be played in 3 cities, as in 2022: Dakar, Cairo and Kigali. The Sahara Conference tips off in Dakar (11 to 21 March). Cairo will host the Nile Conference (26 April – 6 May), while the Finals 8 will take place in Kigali from 21 to 27 May.
FIBA AfroCan returns
Launched in 2019, the FIBA AfroCan returns this year. The competition is for players based in Africa. It is the basketball equivalent of CHAN in football. Qualifiers for the FIBA AfroCan are expected to begin in February for nations not involved in the Africa zone qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup 2023. DR Congo (defending champions), Kenya (runners-up), Angola (3rd) and Morocco (4th) have qualified automatically.
Kigali to host women's AfroBasket
Nigeria, three-time reigning African champions, will defend their title this year. It will take place in Rwanda between July and August. The tournament will feature 12 teams. Qualifiers begin next month. Nigeria, Mali, Cameroon and Senegal have already qualified. The finalists at the next women's AfroBasket will take part in the FIBA Olympic Pre-Qualifying Tournament, scheduled for 12 to 20 August.