The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has officially unveiled a revamped competition format for its sixth season, marking a significant shift in how Africa’s premier club basketball tournament will be staged in 2026. BAL introducing it's Logo in BK Arena in Kigali In a major announcement shared by the BAL, the league will move from three conferences to two, with games set to be hosted in Pretoria, South Africa, and Rabat, Morocco, before the season reaches its climax with the playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda. Under the new format, the 2026 BAL season will run from March to May, a more compact cale

  The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has officially unveiled a revamped competition format for its sixth season, marking a significant shift in how Africa’s premier club basketball tournament will be staged in 2026.

BAL introducing it's Logo in BK Arena in Kigali

In a major announcement shared by the BAL, the league will move from three conferences to two, with games set to be hosted in Pretoria, South Africa, and Rabat, Morocco, before the season reaches its climax with the playoffs in Kigali, Rwanda. Under the new format, the 2026 BAL season will run from March to May, a more compact calendar designed to increase competitiveness and maintain high intensity throughout the tournament. At the end of the conference phase, the top eight teams from the two conferences will qualify for the playoffs, scheduled to take place in Kigali from May 22 to May 31. Although the final list of participants is yet to be officially confirmed, the league expects 12 clubs to take part in Season 6. Several teams have already secured their places through the Road to BAL qualifiers, including JCA Kings of Abidjan, Al Ahli Benghazi, Johannesburg Giants, and Nairobi City Thunder.

BAL season 5 champions

The remaining slots will be filled by clubs that earned automatic qualification through their domestic league titles. Among them are some of the continent’s most established basketball powerhouses such as Petro de Luanda (Angola), ASC Ville de Dakar (Senegal), FUS Rabat (Morocco), Club Africain (Tunisia), Al Ahly SC (Egypt), APR BBC (Rwanda), and MacTown Flyers (Nigeria). For Kigali, hosting the playoffs once again reinforces the city’s growing reputation as a hub for major sporting events in Africa. Rwanda has played a central role in the BAL’s development since the league’s inception, and the return of the decisive stage of the competition is expected to attract fans, scouts, and global attention. Season 6 is shaping up to be a defining chapter for the BAL. After producing five different champions in its first five seasons, the league continues to evolve, aiming for greater balance, broader continental representation, and higher global standards. With a new format, iconic host cities, and elite clubs from across Africa, the stage is set for a thrilling BAL Season 6 — one that could redefine the future of professional basketball on the continent Source: The BAL

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