Basketball Africa League Expands with Record Six New Teams in 2025 Season

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has revealed the 12 teams and game schedule for its landmark fifth season, set to begin with the Kalahari Conference group phase from Saturday, April 5 – Sunday, April 13 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco.

Marking a milestone in the league’s evolution, the 2025 BAL season will introduce six debut teams, the most in league history. Among the new participants are the first-ever BAL representatives from Cape Verde (Kriol Star Basketball) and Kenya (Nairobi City Thunder). Defending champion Petro de Luanda (Angola) and 2022 champion US Monastir (Tunisia) will also return, maintaining their distinction as the only teams to have qualified for all five BAL seasons. The season will feature three regular-season group phases before culminating in the playoffs and finals at the SunBet Arena in Pret
oria, South Africa, in June. Below is the complete list of participating teams by conference.

Kalahari Conference: Al Ittihad (Egypt), Fath Union Sport (FUS; Morocco), Stade Malien (Mali) and Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria). 

Sahara Conference: ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal), Kriol Star Basketball (Cape Verde), Petro de Luanda (Angola) and US Monastir (Tunisia). 

Nile Conference: Al Ahli Tripoli (Libya), Armée Patriotique Rwandaise Basketball (APR; Rwanda), Made by Basketball (MBB; South Africa) and Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya). 

Each conference will compete in a 12-game group phase, with teams playing each of their three conference opponents twice. Host teams in each country will take the court on every gameday throughout the group phase.

The season opener will feature Stade Malien (Mali) against Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria) at 4:00 p.m. GMT+1, followed by a matchup between home team Fath Union Sport (FUS; Morocco) and Al Ittihad (Egypt) at 7:00 p.m. GMT+1.

Single-game tickets for the Rabat games are available online at Guichet.ma and at select physical locations, including Megarama Cinema in Casablanca, Megarama Cinema in Fes, and the National Theatre in Rabat. Fans purchasing tickets will also receive complimentary access to the BAL Fan Zone at the arena.

Tickets for the games in Dakar, Senegal, are also available at www.BAL.NBA.com and BAL-TeewTickets.com.