MIES (Switzerland) - FIBA and the NBA reinforced their joint commitment to improve basketball in Africa as they announced the official launch of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) in February 2019 in a historic moment for the world game.

The BAL was built on the foundation of current club competitions that FIBA had been organizing in Africa while also marking the NBA's first collaboration to operate a league outside of North America.

The announcement at the NBA All-Star Weekend in Charlotte on February 16, 2019 featured FIBA Secretary General Andreas Zagklis and NBA Commissioners Adam Silver but also included other giants in the game, including FIBA Africa President Hamane Niang; Charlotte Hornets Chairman Michael Jordan; NBA Vice President and Managing Director for Africa, Amadou Gallo Fall; NBA players OG Anunoby and Bismack Biyombo, NBA legend Alonzo Mourning, NBA Global Ambassador Dikembe Mutombo and Toronto Raptors President Masai Ujiri.

The message was clear that FIBA and the NBA were fully committing to making the BAL work, naming Gallo Fall as the BAL's first President.

The BAL was replacing the FIBA Africa Basketball League - formerly also known as the FIBA Africa Clubs Champions Cup - as the continent's premier league. The idea for the BAL was to have a top-flight professional league in Africa to give a platform for elite players to showcase their talent and inspire more young boys and girls to play the game. And the BAL was a natural extension to the work that FIBA and NBA have done through their joint youth development initiative Basketball Without Borders (BWB).

The first BAL season was slated to start on March 13, 2020, with 12 teams from across the continent. Qualifying tournaments with 32 teams fighting for six of the spots started on October 15, 2019. The 12-team field was set for the inaugural campaign but the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in the season being canceled on March 3, 2020.

A new date for the first BAL season was not determined until March 29, 2021, when officials announced the 2021 season would be held in a bubble in Kigali, Rwanda from May 16-30 with 12 teams. After group play with three groups of four clubs, the top two teams from each group plus the top two third-placed teams advanced to the Quarter-Finals.

Zamalek of Egypt ended up defeating Tunisian side US Monastir in the Final to secure the first BAL title - as well as a spot in the FIBA Intercontinental Cup 2022.

US Monastir would bounce back and take the 2022 BAL trophy with an 83-72 win over Angola side Petro de Luanda after a Final Eight Playoffs tournament again in Kigali.

FIBA