Road to BAL

Road to BAL

Organising body	FIBA Africa
Founded	2019;5 years ago (2019)
First season	2021
Confederation	FIBA Africa
Number of teams	26 (2025 season)
Current champions	West Division: Al Ahli Tripoli (1st title) East Division: Nairobi City Thunder (1st title) (2025)
Most championships	Cape Town Tigers (2 titles)
TV partners	YouTube Courtside 1891
Website	Link
2025 BAL qualification

The Road to BAL, also known as the BAL Qualifying Tournaments, are the qualifying tournaments of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). While the main tournament is co-organised by FIBA and the NBA, the organization of the qualifiers is completely done by FIBA. The first qualifying rounds began on 16 October 2019 during the 2021 BAL qualification.

The qualifiers are geographically divided into the West and East Division, with three teams qualifying out of each division. Semi-finals and finals are played to determine the winners of the qualifying tournaments.

History

The first BAL qualifying game was played on October 16, 2019, in the qualification for the 2021 season. The City Oilers from Uganda defeated Dynamo 71–57 in Dar es Salaam. ^[1]

During the second season, the name "Road to BAL" was used for the first time, which would later become the event name.

The following years, the competition was held in different venues in several countries, but held the same format which led to six teams qualifying for the main tournament.

Format

The national champions of each national federation (associated with FIBA Africa) can sign up for the BAL qualifiers.

In the inaugural edition, a total of 31 teams ^[2] from 31 countries participate in the qualifying tournaments to determine which six teams will play in the 2020 BAL regular season, along with six directly placed six teams.

The qualifying tournaments are divided into the first round and the Elite 16; teams are also divided into the East Division and the West Division. Out of each division, three teams advance to the main tournament.

Venues

The qualifying rounds are usually played in groups of four to six teams that play each other once in a venue in a pre-determined location. The following arenas have hosted at least one group in either the first round or elite 16:

List of venues that have hosted one or more Road to BAL phase or group (2021–present)

Venue	City	Country	Seasons hosted
Ellis Park Arena	Johannesburg	South Africa	1 (2023)
Wembley Stadium			2 (2021, 2022)
Palais des Sports de Treichville	Abidjan	Ivory Coast	1 (2023)
Palais du 29 Juillet	Niamey	Niger	1 (2023)
Palais des Sports Mahamasina	Antananarivo	Madagascar	2 (2021, 2023)
Palais des Sports du 28 Septembre	Conakry	Guinea	1 (2022)
National Indoor Stadium	Dar es Salaam	Tanzania	2 (2022–2024)
The Filbert Bayi Olympafrica Centre	Kibaha		1 (2025)
Kigali Arena	Kigali	Rwanda	1 (2021)
Yaoundé Multipurpose Sports Complex	Yaoundé	Cameroon	3 (2021–2023)
Palais des Sports Salamatou Maïga	Bamako	Mali	1 (2021)
Palais des Sports de Cotonou	Cotonou	Benin	1 (2021)
Palais des Sports de Libreville	Libreville	Gabon	1 (2021)
Tripoli Great Hall	Tripoli	Libya	1 (2025)
Japoma Multisports Complex Gymnasium	Douala	Cameroon	1 (2025)
City Sports Center	Harare	Zimbabwe	1 (2025)

Results

Qualified for the Basketball Africa League proper

East Division

Ed.	Year	Finals host	First place game			Third place game			Num. teams	Ref.
			Winners	Score	Runners-up	Third place	Score	Fourth place
1	2021	Kigali	Patriots BBC	94–63	GNBC	Ferroviário de Maputo	74–57	City Oilers	16	[3] [4]
2	2022	Johannesburg	Ferroviário da Beira	91–65	Cobra Sport	Cape Town Tigers	20–0 [a]	New Star	10 [b]	[5]
3	2023		Cape Town Tigers	81–71	Ferroviário da Beira	City Oilers	71–62	Urunani	10 [c]	[6] [7]
4	2024		Cape Town Tigers	70–68	City Oilers	Dynamo	79–78	COSPN	14	[8] [9]
5	2025	Nairobi	Nairobi City Thunder	99–86	Kriol Star	Urunani	77–75	City Oilers	14	[10] [11]

West Division

Ed.	Year	Finals host	First place game			Third place game			Num. teams	Ref.
			Winners	Score	Runners-up	Third place	Score	Fourth place
1	2021	Yaoundé	GS Pétroliers	92–88	FAP	AS Police	71–69	ABC Fighters	13	[12] [13]
2	2022		FAP	81–34	SLAC	Espoir Fukash	93–87 (OT)	AS Police	8 [d]	[14]
3	2023	Abidjan	ABC Fighters	81–70	SLAC	Stade Malien	62–59	Bangui Sporting Club	10 [e]	[15]
4	2024	Yaoundé	Bangui Sporting Club	93–90	FUS Rabat	Al Ahly Benghazi	93–84	FAP	9	[16] [17]
5	2025	Abidjan	Al Ahli Tripoli	71–68	Stade Malien	ABC Fighters	92–53	KSA	12	[18]

Performance by country

As of November 2024, 13 different clubs from 12 countries have qualified for the BAL's main tournament. As of the 2023 season, Nigeria, Rwanda, Egypt, Senegal and Tunisia are given a bye for the qualifiers as they qualify directly for the BAL. ^[6] In 2021, Morocco was also given an automatic spot.

Rank	Nation	Gold	Silver	Bronze	Total
1	South Africa	2	0	1	3
2	Mozambique	1	1	1	3
3	Cameroon	1	1	0	2
4	Ivory Coast	1	0	1	2
	Libya	1	0	1	2
6	Algeria	1	0	0	1
	Central African Republic	1	0	0	1
	Rwanda	1	0	0	1
9	Guinea	0	2	0	2
10	Mali	0	1	2	3
11	Morocco	0	1	1	2
	Uganda	0	1	1	2
13	Madagascar	0	1	0	1
	South Sudan	0	1	0	1
15	Burundi	0	0	1	1
	DR Congo	0	0	1	1
Totals (16 entries)		9	9	10	28

All-time participants

The following is a list of clubs who have played in the BAL Qualifying Tournaments at any time since its formation in 2019, or will play in the upcoming season.

Defunct	Defunct teams
1st	Champions
2nd	Runners-up
3rd	Third place
SF	Semi-finalists
E16	Elite 16
R1	First round
W	Withdrew

Team	21	22	23	24	25	Total seasons	Times qualified
GS Pétroliers		–	–	–	–	1	1
WA Boufarik	–	W	–	–	–	–	–
Dolphins	R1	–	–	R1	–	2	–
ASPAC	R1	E16	–	–	–	2	–
Elan Coton	–	–	R1	R1	R1	2	–
AOA	–	W	–	–	–	–	–
USFA	–	–	–	–	W	–	–
Abeilles	W	–	–	–	R1	–	–
Tondema	–	R1	–	–	–	1	–
Bangui Sporting Club	–	–	4th	–	–	2	–
Lamantins	–	–	–	R1 [f]	–	1	–
Tempo	–	–	W	–	–	–	–
Djabal	–	–	R1	–	–	1	–
Usoni	R1	–	–	–	–	1	–
Ushindzi	–	–	–	R1	W	1	–
ABC Fighters	4th	–		E16		3	1
SOA	–	E16	–	–	–	1	–
FAP	2nd		E16	4th	–	4	1
KSA	–	–	–	–	4th	–	–
Chaux Sport	–	–	–	–	E16	1	–
Mazembe	E16	–	–	–	–	1	–
Espoir Fukash	–		–	–	–	1	1
Vita Club	–	–	W	–	–	–	–
Virunga	–	–	–	R1	–	1	–
Prédio	–	W	–	–	–	–	–
Kriol Star	–	–	–	–	R1	1	–
Manga BB	E16	–	–	–	–	1	–
Moanda	–	–	–	–	E16	1	–
Espoir	–	–	R1	R1	–	2	–
SLAC	R1			E16	–	4	2
Virgen María de África	R1	–	–	–	–	1	–
Nueva Era	–	–	E16	–	–	1	–
Malabo Kings	–	W	–	–	–	–	–
Braves of Customs	R1	–	–	–	–	1	–
Reformers of Prisons	–	–	W	–	–	0	–
Spintex Knights	–	–	–	–	E16	1	–
Hawassa City	R1	W		–	W	1	–
City Oilers	4th	E16			Q	5	2
AS Police		4th	–	–	–	1	1
Stade Malien	–	–		W		2	2
ABC (Army)	–	–	R1	–	–	1	–
JKT	E16	–	–	–	R1	1	–
Kurasini Heat	–	E16	–	–	–	1	–
Pazi	–	–	–	E16	–	1	–
Cobra Sport	E16		W	–	–	2	–
Fox	–	–	–	–	R1	1	–
Dynamo	R1	–	–		–	2	–
New Star	–	4th	–	–	–	1	–
Urunani	–	–	4th	–	TBD	1	–
Jozi Nuggets	R1	–	–	–	–	1	–
Cape Town Tigers	–				–	3	3
Costa do Sol	–	–	–	–	R1	1	–
Ferroviário de Maputo		–	–	–	–	1	1
Ferroviário da Beira	–			E16	–	3	2
Roche-Bois Warriors	–	R1	W		–	1	–
Lions	R1	–	–	–	–	1	–
Beau Vallon Heat	R1	–	–	R1	R1	2	–
Al Ahly Ly	–	–	–		–	1	1
Al Ahli Tripoli	–	–	–	–		1	1
Al-Nasr Benghazi	E16	–	–	–	–	1	–
AS Salé	–	W	E16	–	–	1	–
ASCUT	–	W	–	–	–	–	–
COSPN	–	–	E16	4th	–	2	–
GNBC		–	–	–	R1	1	1
Brave Hearts	–	R1	–	W	Q	2	–
Nairobi City Thunder	–	–	–	–	Q	1	–
KPA	E16	–	E16	R1	–	2	–
Ulinzi Warriors	–	E16	–	–	–	1	–
Matero Magic	–	E16	E16	–	Q	2	–
Munali Suns	–	–	–	R1	–	1	–
UNZA Pacers	E16	–	–	–	–	1	–
Nigelec	E16	E16	R1	W	–	3	–
Mighty Barrolle	–	–	–	–	R1	1	–
NPA Pythons	R1	–	–	–	–	1	–
Patriots		–	–	–	–	1	1
JBC	–	–	–	E16	–	1	–
Hounds	–	–	–	–	R1	1	–
Mercenaries	R1	W	–	–	–	1	–
Vixens-Foxes	–	–	W	–	–	1	–
NBA Academy Africa [g]	–	–	E16	E16	Q	3	–

All-time record by club

As of 8 October 2022.

Club	Years	Pld	W	L	4th	3rd	RU	W
FAP	3	17	13	4	–	–	1	1
ABC	3	17	11	6	1	–	–	1
Patriots	1	9	9	0	–	–	–	1
Ferroviário de Maputo	1	10	8	2	–	1	–	–
AS Police	2	14	7	7	1	1	–	–
City Oilers	2	11	7	4	1	–	–	–
SLAC	3	14	6	8	–	–	2	–
GNBC	1	9	6	3	–	–	1	–
GS Pétroliers	1	8	6	2	–	–	–	1
Stade Malien	1	8	6	2	–	1	–	–
KPA	1	7	6	1	–	–	–	–
Ferroviário da Beira	1	7	6	1	–	–	–	1
Nigelec	3	17	5	12	–	–	–	–
UNZA Pacers	1	8	5	3	–	–	–	–
Cape Town Tigers	1	7	5	2	–	1	–	–
Bangui Sporting Club	1	6	5	1	1	–	–	–
Cobra Sport	2	13	4	9	–	–	1	–
New Star	1	6	4	2	1	–	–	–
Manga BB	1	6	4	2	–	–	–	–
Espoir Fukash	1	6	3	3	–	1	–	–
Al-Nasr Benghazi	1	3	3	3	–	–	–	–
Mercenaries	1	5	3	2	–	–	–	–
Elan Coton	1	6	2	4	–	–	–	–
JKT	1	7	2	5	–	–	–	–
ASPAC	2	6	2	4	–	–	–	–
SOA	1	4	2	2	–	–	–	–
Matero Magic	3	8	1	7	–	–	–	–
Mazembe	1	6	1	5	–	–	–	–
Nueva Era	1	5	1	4	–	–	–	–
Tondema	1	5	1	4	–	–	–	–
Jozi Nuggets	1	5	1	4	–	–	–	–
Lions	1	5	1	4	–	–	–	–
Dolphins	1	5	1	4	–	–	–	–
Dynamo	1	4	1	3	–	–	–	–
Braves of Customs	1	4	1	3	–	–	–	–
Ulinzi Warriors	1	4	1	3	–	–	–	–
NPA Pythons	1	4	1	3	–	–	–	–
Beau Vallon Heat	1	4	1	3	–	–	–	–
AS Salé	1	3	1	2	–	–	–	–
ABC	1	3	1	2	–	–	–	–
Hawassa City	1	4	0	4	–	–	–	–
Usoni	1	4	0	4	–	–	–	–
Virgen María de África	1	3	0	3	–	–	–	–
Roche-Bois Warriors	1	3	0	3	–	–	–	–
Tondema	1	2	0	2	–	–	–	–
Brave Hearts	1	2	0	2	–	–	–	–
Djabal Iconi	1	2	0	2	–	–	–	–
Espoir	1	2	0	2	–	–	–	–

Records

Team records

• Best performance by record:
  • Patriots in the 2019 qualification (9–0)
• Largest win
  • 96 points difference (Ferroviário da Beira 132–36 Roche-Bois Warriors) on October 22, 2021
  • 83 points difference (Djabal Iconi 37–120 KPA) on October 22, 2022
  • 77 points difference (KPA 131–54 Usoni Club) on November 1, 2019
• Most points scored in a game
  • 131 by KPA (131–54 vs. Usoni Club) on November 1, 2019
• Fewest points scored in a game
  • 36 by Roche-Bois Warriors (vs. Ferroviário da Beira) on October 30, 2019

Individual records

• Most points scored in a game
  • 45 by Baraka Athumani, JKT (vs. Dynamo) on October 20, 2019
  • 40 by Falando Jones, City Oilers (vs. Cape Town Tigers) on November 26, 2022
  • 39 by Mohamed Ali Halder, Al-Nasr (vs. FAP). on November 26, 2019
• Most rebounds in a game
  • 26 by Michael Mukumbutaa, Lions Windhoek (vs. UNZA Pacers) on October 27, 2019
  • 22 by Ameh Eric Ejeh, ASPAC (vs. Nigelec) on October 30, 2019
• Most assists in a game
  • 12 by Stephane Mshana, JKT (vs. Dynamo) on October 20, 2019
  • 12 by Solo Diabate, Al Ahly Benghazi (vs. FAP) on November 5, 2023 ^[19]
• Most steals in a game
  • 9 by Abdoulaye Harouna, Nigelec (vs. FAP) on November 28, 2019
• Most blocks in a game
  • 9 by Frank Kamndoh Betoudji, Virunga (vs. FAP) on October 9, 2023 ^[19]
• Most 3-point field goals made in a game
  • 9 by Timothy Kwaor, Nigelec (vs. NPA Pythons) on November 1, 2019
• Oldest player to play in a game
  • James Truman Bedeah, Mighty Barrolle at 45 years old in the 2025 BAL qualification ^[20]

Notes

1. Players of New Star tested positive for COVID-19 and thus were given the automatic loss.
2. In the 2022 BAL qualification, initially 26 teams would participate but six teams withdrew.
3. In 2023, 21 teams participated after 8 teams withdrew.
4. In the 2022 BAL qualification, initially 26 teams would participate but six teams withdrew.
5. In 2023, 21 teams participated after 8 teams withdrew.
6. Lamantins from Chad forfeited during their first game and were subsequently disqualified in the 2024 qualifying tournament.
7. The NBA Academy Africa has joined the competition since 2023, but is ineligible to advance as they represent the NBA.

References

1. "City Oilers v Dynamo boxscore - Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L 2020 2019 - 16 October". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 12 October 2024.
2. "African clubs to compete in qualifying tournaments for the Basketball Africa League confirmed". FIBA Africa. 9 October 2019. Retrieved 11 October 2019.
3. "Patriots finish BAL Qualifiers on high note". FIBA.basketball. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
4. "Ferroviario de Maputo book last Basketball Africa League slot". FIBA.basketball. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
5. "Cape Town Tigers qualify for BAL after New Star forfeit". ESPN.com. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 18 March 2022.
6. "African clubs to compete in 2022 Road to BAL and Elite 16 Qualifying Tournaments confirmed". FIBA.basketball. 21 September 2022. Retrieved 22 September 2022.
7. "City Oilers overcome Urunani to punch last ticket to the Basketball Africa League 2023". FIBA.basketball. 27 November 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
8. "Cape Town Tigers crowned East Division Elite 16 champions". FIBA.basketball. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
9. "Dynamo outlast COSPN, secure last BAL ticket". FIBA.basketball. 26 November 2023. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
10. "Nairobi City Thunder win the 2024 East Division Elite 16". www.fiba.basketball. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
11. "Urunani hold on against Oilers for third place in East Division". www.fiba.basketball. 3 December 2024. Retrieved 4 December 2024.
12. "Algeria's GSP clinch the 'Elite 16' West Division top spot". FIBA.basketball. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
13. "AS Police secure maiden Basketball Africa League ticket". FIBA.basketball. 1 December 2019. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
14. "Espoir Fukash beat AS Police in overtime, qualify to BAL 2022". FIBA.basketball. 16 December 2021. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
15. "Stade Malien pick last ticket from West Division for BAL 2023". FIBA.basketball. 19 November 2022. Retrieved 26 January 2023.
16. "Al Ahly Benghazi pick last ticket from the West Division to the BAL 2024 season". FIBA.basketball. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
17. "Bangui win West Division Elite 16". FIBA.basketball. 5 November 2023. Retrieved 6 November 2023.
18. "Al Ahli Tripoli clinch 2025 Road to BAL West Division title". www.fiba.basketball. 10 November 2024. Retrieved 11 November 2024.
19. "Players statistics of the Africa Champions Clubs ROAD TO B.A.L. 2024 2023". FIBA.basketball. Retrieved 28 November 2023.
20. "Things to know about the Road to BAL 2025 - West Division". www.fiba.basketball. 10 October 2024. Retrieved 15 October 2024. Born on November 17, 1978, James Truman Bedeah (45) is the oldest to ever feature in the Road to BAL.