Source: National Basketball Association (NBA) |

Basketball Africa League Announces Broadcast Partners and Game Schedule Ahead of Inaugural Season

Inaugural BAL Season Will Reach Fans in 215 Countries and Territories in 15 Languages

Canal+ and ESPN will air all 26 BAL games across Francophone and Anglophone countries and territories in sub-Saharan Africa

DAKAR, Senegal, May 13, 2021/APO Group/ --

Canal+, ESPN, beIN SPORTS, NBA TV, Tencent Video, TSN, American Forces Network and Voice of America to Broadcast BAL Games Around the World; Inaugural BAL Season Will Reach Fans in 215 Countries and Territories in 15 Languages; Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club to Face Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers in First BAL Game on May 16 at 4:00 p.m. CAT.

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) today announced partnerships with Canal+, ESPN, beIN SPORTS, NBA TV, Tencent Video, TSN, American Forces Network (AFN) and Voice of America (VOA) to broadcast BAL games throughout Africa and around the world. The inaugural BAL season will tip off Sunday, May 16 at 4:00 p.m. CAT when Rwanda’s Patriots Basketball Club takes on Nigeria’s Rivers Hoopers at the Kigali Arena in Kigali, Rwanda.

The other opening games in the group phase will feature Senegal’s Association Sportive des Douanes vs. Algeria’s Groupement Sportif des Pétroliers, Egypt’s Zamalek vs. Mozambique’s Ferroviàrio de Maputo, Tunisia’s Union Sportive Monastirienne vs. Madagascar’s Gendarmerie Nationale Basketball Club, Angola’s Petro de Luanda vs. Mali’s Association Sportive de la Police, and Morocco’s Association Sportive de Salé vs. Cameroon’s Forces Armées et Police Basketball. The first BAL Finals will be held Sunday, May 30 at 4:00 p.m. CAT.

Canal+ and ESPN will air all 26 BAL games across Francophone and Anglophone countries and territories in sub-Saharan Africa. Canal+ will also produce and distribute original ancillary programming, including weekly magazine show “BAL Action.” VOA will broadcast 24 games, including select games in English, French, Portuguese, Kinyarwanda, Bambara and Wolof across its extensive radio network in Africa, with additional programming across its online and mobile platforms. beIN Media Group, the global sports and entertainment broadcaster, through its flagship channel beIN SPORTS, will air all 26 games in Arabic in the Middle East and North Africa, including the opening game, quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals.

Select free-to-air channels throughout Africa will also air BAL games, including the opening game, quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals.

In the U.S, all games will be available on ESPN+ while the opening game and Finals will also air on ESPNews. ESPN will air the opening game and Finals in select countries in Asia-Pacific, the Caribbean, Europe and Latin America, and all BAL games will air on ESPN’s digital platforms in those same regions. BAL games and programming will also be available in Canada on TSN and in China on Tencent Video. AFN, which is distributed in 168 countries and territories to American military bases and ships at seas, will air select games live and on delay throughout the season.

NBA TV will broadcast 12 live games and select games on delay in the U.S. and around the world across the group phase, quarterfinals, semifinals and Finals. All BAL games will livestream on the NBA App, the official NBA website www.NBA.com and the official BAL website, www.theBAL.com.

“We’re excited to work with this group of world-class distribution partners to broadcast our historic inaugural season,” said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. “I encourage basketball fans in Africa and around the world to tune in on May 16 and throughout the season to see the best talent in Africa and beyond compete for the right to be crowned the first BAL champion.”

BAL game broadcasts will utilize the NBA’s Global Statistical System (NGSS), which has been built and supported by NBA partner Genius Sports.

The BAL will tip off with an 18-game group phase with the 12 teams divided into three groups of four. During the group phase, each team will face the three other teams in its group once. The top eight teams from the group phase will qualify for the playoffs, which will be single elimination in all three rounds.

             GROUP A

GROUP B

GROUP C

GNBC (Madagascar) (https://bit.ly/2SAHAL9)

Petro de Luanda (Angola) (https://bit.ly/3w1u95v)

GSP  (Algeria) (https://bit.ly/3hkne34)

Rivers Hoopers (Nigeria) (https://bit.ly/33GrIct)

FAP (Cameroon) (https://bit.ly/3xZHBbM)

Zamalek (Egypt) (https://bit.ly/33QSe33)

Patriots BBC (Rwanda) (https://bit.ly/3eIn1oA)

AS Police (Mali) (https://bit.ly/3oaNJJO)

Ferroviàrio de Maputo (Mozambique) (https://bit.ly/2QgEUBM)

US Monastir (Tunisia) (https://bit.ly/3fsUDX5)

AS Salé (Morocco) (https://bit.ly/3tIP1g6)

AS Douanes (Senegal) (https://bit.ly/3uUq2b2)

Additional details about the BAL will be announced in the coming days.  Below is the complete BAL game schedule:

2021 BAL Regular-Season Schedule

DATE

TEAM 1

TEAM 2

GROUP

TIME (P.M. CAT)

16/05/2021

Patriots BBC

River Hoopers

A

4:00

17/05/2021

AS Douanes

GSP

C

2:00

17/05/2021

Zamalek

Maputo

C

5:30

17/05/2021

US Monastir

GNBC

A

9:00

18/05/2021

Petro de Luanda

AS Police

B

5:30

18/05/2021

AS Salé

FAP

B

9:00

19/05/2021

GNBC

Patriots BBC

A

2:00

19/05/2021

Maputo

AS Douanes

C

5:30

19/05/2021

Zamalek

GSP

C

9:00

20/05/2021

FAP

Petro de Luanda

B

2:00

20/05/2021

US Monastir

River Hoopers

A

5:30

20/05/2021

AS Salé

AS Police

B

9:00

22/05/2021

GSP

Maputo

C

2:00

22/05/2021

AS Douanes

Zamalek

C

5:30

22/05/2021

Patriots BBC

US Monastir

A

9:00

23/05/2021

River Hoopers

GNBC

A

2:00

23/05/2021

AS Police

FAP

B

5:30

23/05/2021

Petro de Luanda

AS Salé

B

9:00


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 


 

2021 BAL Playoffs Schedule

DATE

TEAM 1

TEAM 2

GAME

CAT

QUARTERFINALS

25/05/2021

Seed 1

Seed 4

G19

5:30

25/05/2021

Seed 2

Seed 3

G20

9:00

26/05/2021

Seed 5

Seed 8

G21

5:30

26/05/2021

Seed 6

Seed 7

G22

9:00

SEMIFINALS

28/05/2021

W19

W22

G23

5:30

28/05/2021

W20

W21

G24

9:00

THIRD PLACE

29/05/2021

L23

L24

G25

4:00

FINALS

30/05/2021

W23

W24

G26

4:00

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of National Basketball Association (NBA).

Media Contact:
Yvon Edoumou
Basketball Africa League
+221 77 637 3401
yedoumou@thebal.com

About the BAL:
The BAL, a partnership between the International Basketball Federation (FIBA) and the NBA, is a new professional league featuring 12 club teams from across Africa. The BAL, which is headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, builds on the foundation of club competitions FIBA Regional Office Africa has organized in Africa and marks the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a league outside North America. Fans can follow the BAL @theBAL on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook and register their interest in receiving more information at www.theBAL.com.