ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The FIBA Regional Office Africa hosted the 2027 Road to BAL Elite 16 Draw Ceremony on Friday in Côte d'Ivoire's largest city on November 6.
Club representatives, FIBA officials, guests, and basketball executives attended the event, which saw the sixteen clubs divided into four groups of four.
The West Division Elite 16 will take place in Abidjan from 9–15 November, while the East Division Elite 16 is scheduled to take place in Nairobi from 23–29 November.
Here are the draw results:
West Division
Group A: JCA Kings (Cote d'Ivoire)* Avenir du Rail (Republic of Congo) Spintex Kinghts (Ghana) Stade Malien (Mali)
Group B: Al Ittihad Sporting Club (Libya) Nadi Staoueli (Algeria) Nabaya Sofas (Guinea) Espoir Basket Club (Gabon)
East Division
Group A: Nairobi City Thunder (Kenya)* Patriot Basketball Club (South Sudan) Munali Suns (Zambia) Urunani (Burundi)
Group B: Dar City (Tanzania)* Dolphins (Botswana) Namuwongo Blazers (Uganda) Ferroviario da Beira (Mozambique)
*Qualified automatically to the Elite 16
Competition System
The top two teams in each division, plus the highest-ranked third-placed team from both divisions, will qualify for the 2027 Basketball Africa League (BAL) season, bringing the total number of teams to five.
These five teams will join the seven teams that have automatically qualified for the BAL regular season, representing Angola, Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia.
Photos of the Draw Ceremony for the 2027 Road to BAL Elite 16
FIBA