By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
The Basketball Africa League (BAL) on Thursday announced the 12 teams and full group-phase schedule for its 2026 season, which will tip off on 27 March at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria.
The sixth edition of the continental competition will feature 12 clubs from 12 African countries and a total of 42 games staged across South Africa, Morocco, and Rwanda, with the playoffs and finals set for Kigali from 22 to 31 May.
The 12 teams include Dar City – the first-ever BAL participant from Tanzania – first-time BAL participants JCA Kings (Côte d’Ivoire), Maktown Flyers (Nigeria), Johannesburg Giants (South Africa) and Club Africain (Tunisia), 2024 BAL champion Petro de Luanda (Angola) – the only team to have qualified for all six BAL seasons – and 2023 BAL champion Al Ahly (Egypt).
In Pretoria, the opening day will see Libya’s Al Ahly Ly face Rwanda’s APR at 4pm, followed by hosts Johannesburg Giants against Tanzania’s Dar City at 7pm.
Other Kalahari Conference fixtures include Angola’s Petro de Luanda, Kenya’s Nairobi City Thunder, and further meetings between APR, Dar City, and Al Ahly Ly, culminating in the final group games on 5 April.
The Sahara Conference in Rabat will bring together Egypt’s Ahly, Tunisia’s Club Africain, Senegal’s ASC Ville de Dakar, Morocco’s FUS de Rabat, Côte d’Ivoire’s JCA Kings, and Nigeria’s Maktown Flyers.
Ahly will open their campaign on 25 April against Club Africain, before facing ASC Ville de Dakar, Maktown Flyers, JCA Kings, and FUS de Rabat in the Moroccan capital.
“Welcoming five new teams into the BAL family is a powerful sign of the league’s continued growth, the impact it is having on the African basketball ecosystem, and the incredible talent developing across the continent,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. “We look forward to engaging our passionate fans in South Africa, Morocco, Rwanda and those watching across Africa and around the world as we continue to establish the BAL as the continent’s preeminent sport and entertainment property.”
Tickets for the Kalahari Conference are available through Ticketmaster South Africa. Tickets for the Sahara Conference and the playoffs in Kigali will be released soon via the league’s official website.