African Basketball Competing in the Inaugural Season
The National Basketball Association (NBA) and the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) partnered to form the Basketball Africa League (BAL). Pepsi and the Jordan Brand will sponsor the basketball tournament. It will start on March 13, 2020. Basketball fans can wager on it at Betway. In this post, we discuss the Basketball Africa League.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL)
Twelve African teams will compete in the Basketball Africa League in Dakar, Senegal from March 13, 2020. The National Basketball Association appointed Amadou Gallo Fall as the President of the African league. He stated that the 12 basketball teams will compete this inaugural season to about 100 spectators in the Hyatt Regency hotel's Grand Ballroom in the NBA All-Star weekend in Chicago. The NBA celebrated its tenth anniversary since it opened its first office in Africa. The late David Stern spearheaded its formation.
The National Basketball Association showed videos highlighting its progress in developing basketball in Africa in the luncheon. Some clips showed Stern's determination to open an office for the American league in Africa. Many basketball fans who take part in Betway live betting wager on different NBA teams. Stern strived to widen the NBA's fan base to Africa.
Gallo said that Stern hired him to lead the NBA International. He relocated to Africa in 1993 and met with President Nelson Mandela. He attended President Nelson's inauguration in 1994 and shared his vision to inspire Africans and develop communities through the NBA brand. The NBA has signed talented basketball players from Africa in the past. They include Dikembe Mutombo and Hakeem Olajuwon. Moreover, more African-born basketballers have joined the league of late.
The Inaugural Season of the Basketball League
NBA rosters had 11 African players on the opening day of this NBA season. The 2019 NBA draft had nine African-born basketballers. The American basketball league uses different programs including Jr. NBA initiatives and Basketball Without Borders to discover new talents such as Pascal Siakam and Joel Embiid.
The NBA has other initiatives in other countries that nurture young basketball players. The Basketball Africa League will help talented children join local leagues in the future. Fall said that in the past, it was difficult for upcoming African basketball players to hone their skills while playing for local teams. They had to join foreign teams to grow their career. But now, African players can perfect their skills on the continent.
Fall refers to BAL's potential in the continent as an economic engine. He believes that the league will create many job opportunities including digital marketers, coaches, sports journalists, and trainers. Additionally, the league will lift different communities. The NBA has built community centers and basketball courts in Africa in the last 10 years. It helped Embiid and Siakam learn new techniques and join the National Basketball Association.
The National Basketball Association showed its commitment to developing basketball in Africa when it collaborated with the International Basketball Federation to form the Basketball Africa League. The inaugural BAL season will be held in Sale (Morocco), Monastir (Tunisia), Luanda (Angola), Lagos (Nigeria), Dakar (Senegal) and Cairo (Egypt). The BAL finals and playoffs will take place in Kigali, Rwanda. More than 30 African nations took part in the qualifications. You can get more information about BAL at Betway.
