The NBA African Basketball League is getting closer to reality with the announcement of host cities

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The NBA's plans to permanently integrate professional basketball in Africa are getting closer to reality.

Tuesday, the league announced the first seven cities that will host the African Basketball League (BAL) in March 2020. Other details about the league were shared in the release, including a major partnership with Nike and Jordan Brand to exclusively equip the 12 teams of gaming and training equipment.

According to the statement, the teams will play in the cities of Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Rabat (Morocco) and Monastir or Tunis (Tunisia) during the regular season. a BAL final and a BAL final should be held in Kigali, Rwanda.

The league first hinted at an international expansion overseas in February during the NBA All-Star Weekend, when Commissioner Adam Silver made an announcement at the NBA Africa's annual luncheon. With host cities and major sponsors in the stone and a list of current and former players, actors and politicians, the plans are moving forward at full speed.

The deployment of the BAL could not arrive at a more opportune moment. For years, the NBA has strived to expand its international footprint by investing heavily in programs such as Basketball without borders while exploring plans for a day by putting a franchise in Mexico City. This year's NBA Summer League brought together national teams from China and Croatia and 2019-20 will feature first NBA match of the regular season to take place in Paris.

The league is taking advantage of its growing popularity around the world, coinciding with the victory of the Toronto Raptor final in June – the first championship ever won outside of the US.

In itself, the Raptors are a microcosm of the global game that basketball has become. Toronto, a self-made international city, is renowned for its pbadion for the sport, but has also been successful thanks to its mix of players from seven different countries. In addition, the president of the basketball team, Masai Ujiri, is himself a Nigerian.

In league, the NBA in the spotlight 108 players from 42 different countries on the composition of the opening day before the 2018-19 season. It was the fifth year in a row that started with 100 or more international players, with at least one on each of the 30 alignments. Of the 108 players, 13 were from Africa.

That means that about 22% of the NBA was born abroad. While Major League Baseball and the NHL have a higher percentage of foreigners, with respectively 28.5% and 71% of the lineup, the 42 unique NBA countries represented defeated the MLB (20), the NHL (17) and the NFL (19).

While more specific details are yet to be clarified, here's what basketball fans can expect: the six selected cities will have 12 teams divided into two conferences, each taking place in three cities. Thirty games of the regular season will be played (five games each for the 12 teams), with the top three of each conference qualifying for a six-round round robin that will eventually determine the Final Four.

"Today's announcements mark another important milestone as we head towards what will be the first historic season for the African Basketball League," said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall in an official statement.

"We will now play in seven major host cities and our first partnership with a world-clbad outfitter. We thank our first partners, Nike and Jordan Brand, for supporting us in this adventure and ensuring that our teams have the best uniforms and products in the field. "

To bring professional basketball to Africa was a perspective fueled not only by the continent's wild obsession with sports and the growing representation in the league, but also by big celebrities.

Charlotte Hornets Governor Michael Jordan, Dikembe Mutombo, a member of the Democratic Republic of Congo Hall of Fame, actor Chris Tucker and President Barack Obama are just some of the many others to seize to participate at the BAL initiative.

"It's a big party," Mutombo said. Marc J. Spears of the undefeated, shortly after the announcement of the All-Star weekend.

"It's a dream come true for all of us. I had the chance to play this game and I dreamed that something like that is happening on the continent. Today, we see it. I do not have to explain the importance of this to me. "

Despite the seemingly unprecedented popularity of the NBA, the league has begun to think of ways to increase the value of the regular season or conference and division championships. Talking about experimenting with tournaments and championships in season, similar to the running of European football, has intensified. It will certainly be interesting to see if an overlap with another professional basketball league such as the BAL would be considered.

For the moment, the NBA remains in a category of its own for innovation and proactive growth. Monetary resources, marketability and the fan base all exist to continue globalization. If successful, do not expect the BAL to be a miracle.

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The NBA's plans to permanently integrate professional basketball in Africa are getting closer to reality.

On Tuesday, the league announced the inaugural seven cities that will host Africa League basketball, or "BAL", in March 2020. Further details on the league were unveiled in the release, including a partnership major with Nike and Jordan. The brand will exclusively equip the 12 teams of play equipment and training.

According to the statement, the teams will play in the cities of Cairo (Egypt), Dakar (Senegal), Lagos (Nigeria), Luanda (Angola), Rabat (Morocco) and Monastir or Tunis (Tunisia) during the regular season. a BAL final and a BAL final should be held in Kigali, Rwanda.

The league first hinted at an international expansion overseas in February during the NBA All-Star Weekend, when Commissioner Adam Silver made an announcement at the NBA Africa's annual luncheon. With host cities and major sponsors in the stone and a list of current and former players, actors and politicians, the plans are moving forward at full speed.

The deployment of the BAL could not arrive at a more opportune moment. For years, the NBA has been striving to expand its international footprint by investing heavily in programs such as Basketball Without Borders while exploring the day-to-day plans for creating a new kind of organization. franchise in Mexico. This year's NBA Summer League brought together the Chinese and Croatian national teams and 2019-20, the first match of the NBA regular season to take place in Paris.

The league is taking advantage of its growing popularity around the world, coinciding with the victory of the Toronto Raptor final in June – the first championship ever won outside of the US.

In itself, the Raptors are a microcosm of the global game that basketball has become. Toronto, a self-made international city, is renowned for its pbadion for the sport, but has also been successful thanks to its mix of players from seven different countries. In addition, the president of the basketball team, Masai Ujiri, is himself a Nigerian.

As a league, the NBA has featured 108 players from 42 different countries in alignment before the 2018-19 season. It was the fifth year in a row that started with 100 or more international players, with at least one on each of the 30 alignments. Of the 108 players, 13 were from Africa.

That means that about 22% of the NBA was born abroad. While the Major League Baseball and NHL have better percentage of foreigners, with respectively 28.5% and 71% of the lineup, the 42 unique NBA countries represented defeated the MLB (20), the NHL (17) and the NFL (19).

While more specific details are yet to be clarified, here's what basketball fans can expect: the six selected cities will have 12 teams divided into two conferences, each taking place in three cities. Thirty games of the regular season will be played (five games each for the 12 teams), with the top three of each conference qualifying for a six-round round robin that will eventually determine the Final Four.

"Today's announcements mark another important milestone as we head towards what will be the first historic season for the African Basketball League," said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall in an official statement.

"We will now play in seven major host cities and our first partnership with a world-clbad outfitter. We thank our first partners, Nike and Jordan Brand, for supporting us in this adventure and ensuring that our teams have the best uniforms and products in the field. "

To bring professional basketball to Africa was a perspective fueled not only by the continent's wild obsession with sports and the growing representation in the league, but also by big celebrities.

Charlotte Hornets Governor Michael Jordan, Dikembe Mutombo, a member of the Democratic Republic of Congo Hall of Fame, actor Chris Tucker and President Barack Obama are just some of the many others to seize to participate at the BAL initiative.

"It's a big party," Mutombo told Marc J. Spears of The Undefeated shortly after the weekend's announcement of the stars.

"It's a dream come true for all of us. I had the chance to play this game and I dreamed that something like that is happening on the continent. Today, we see it. I do not have to explain the importance of this to me. "

Despite the seemingly unprecedented popularity of the NBA, the league has begun to think of ways to increase the value of the regular season or conference and division championships. Talking about experimenting with tournaments and championships in season, similar to the running of European football, has intensified. It will certainly be interesting to see if an overlap with another professional basketball league such as the BAL would be considered.

For the moment, the NBA remains in a category of its own for innovation and proactive growth. Monetary resources, marketability and the fan base all exist to continue globalization. If successful, do not expect the BAL to be a miracle.