ABIDJAN(Cote d'Ivoire) - Alphonse Bile has become one of the latest high-profile figures to voice optimism about the inaugural Basketball Africa League (BAL), which has been postponed following the  COVID-19 outbreak.

In a recent interview with BAL's Hang Time, the FIBA Africa Executive Director recalled that the competition has come to transform the landscape of basketball on the continent of Africa although the start date is yet to be confirmed.

For Bile, there is no way back.

Bile's assertion followed FIBA Africa President and BAL's Board President Anibal Manave, who called on African basketball shareholders to remain positive about the launching of BAL this year.

BAL is a partnership between FIBA and the National Basketball Association (NBA), and it aims to boost African basketball at different levels.

"To be honest, it’s a challenge. We are here to show our talent, our skills. But we don’t want to disappoint," the former Cote d'Ivoire international player and coach stressed.

 Six clubs representing six Africa countries have earned their places in the highly-anticipated competition through a play-off competition, early this year.

Thirty two clubs from all corners of Africa competed over a three-month qualifier period to join six automatically-qualified teams to complete BAL's 12-team lineup.

Representatives from Cameroon (FAP), Mali (AS Police), Madagascar (GNBC), Rwanda (Patriots), Mozambique (Ferroviario de Maputo), and Algeria (GS Petroliers) joined champions top-ranked clubs from Nigeria (Rivers Hoopers), Angola (Petro de Luanda), Senegal (AS Douanes), Egypt (Zamalek), Morocco (AS Sale) and Tunisia (Monastir).

"I believe in it, honestly, because the NBA leads the way. I think African basketball will take off," Bile said.

"Africa is full of talent, what we need is structures, manpower and resources. If we become professional, clubs will become more reliable and independent structures, and basketball would develop faster on each country, even if there is only one representative for the BAL. In a more concrete terms, in a few years, I see the BAL as the strongest competition in Africa, all sports combined."

BAL replaces the FIBA's Africa Basketball League, which last took place in May 2019.

Bile remains optimistic about BAL's potential and explained how it could benefit not only clubs and local federations, but also players.

He looked back at last year's FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup, where Mali stunned the world by finishing second.

"When I saw those players, I thought if this FIBA/NBA competition in Africa delivers, those kids won’t play in Europe - maybe one or two of them will go to the NBA - or at least they’ll play in the BAL and make a living out of it."

Yet, Bile admitted there is a lot of work to be done. 

"We’ve got more work to do, there are constraints and sometimes, I can’t sleep thinking about it. African basketball is about to earn a place at international level. But it’s not enough, we need leaders," the 1981 Africa Champion pointed out.

FIBA