BAL Boss Tips Record Attendance As Season 6 Gets Underway In Pretoria
PRETORIA, South Africa, Mar 27 – As the Basketball Africa League (BAL) continues to gather momentum, President Amadau Gallo Fall is upbeat that the sixth edition will register record fan attendance for the Kalahari Conference in Pretoria, South Africa.
Having changed the format from last year, the two conferences, Kalahari and Sahara, are expected to draw a large number of basketball enthusiasts, as witnessed on the opening day in Pretoria.
Day one recorded a near full capacity, with the number of fans expected to grow in the coming days, something that Amadau acknowledged inspired the return of BAL to South Africa for a third consecutive season.
“BAL is proud to be back in Pretoria for a third consecutive season. This is due to the passion and love for basketball we see on the stands. Over the last two seasons, over 50,000 fans have attended our games. This sixth season, I am certain we will establish another fan attendance record in the arena,” the BAL boss said during the press conference before tip-off.
“Just like every year, this is going to be an epic season because we have five players with NBA experience, and elite coaches are back to manage the 12 teams. Each team will feature one elite player from our elite program in collaboration with NBA Africa,” Amadou added.
Off the court, Amadou said that BAL is committed to elevating the communities through social impact programs.
“We will be active in the community working with our partners across our host markets in Kenya, Egypt, Nigeria, and Senegal, where we will have coaching clinics, education and literacy initiatives, a series of workshops for young women throughout BAL to advance the gender equality in sports,” Amadou underscored.
-NBA Africa proud of BAL growth –
NBA Africa CEO, Clare Akamanzi, said BAL’s growth in the continent has led to the development of basketball talent showcasing their skills to the world.
“We are currently exploring a franchise model where we have a semi-permanent league and, in that exploration, we see that the league’s future and its potential will continue to support long-term investment and local ownership in different cities across the African Continent,” Akamanzi said.
She added, “Our goal is to build BAL into a leading sport and entertainment property on the African continent, so BAL is proving that basketball is a good business in Africa.”
“For us at NBA Africa, BAL is a long-term market and aligns with our vision of connecting people everywhere through the game of basketball. BAL continues to give us (NBA Africa) direct access to a young, fast-growing audience in Africa,” she added.
In NBA Africa’s goal of building 1000 courts across Africa in 10 years, the CEO confirmed that they are headed for a fifth court construction in Kenya and have already done 60 in total across the continent.
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