TRIPOLI (Libya) - Four months since Petro de Luanda lifted the trophy of the BAL season four, and the race for the fifth edition of Africa's prime clubs competition is back with the qualifying phase set to tip off in Tripoli, Libya.
The Road to BAL 2025 will see over twenty teams from all corners of Africa compete - from October to November - for a chance to join six other clubs, who have qualified automatically to the BAL regular season.
There are two Divisions (East and West) and six African cities set host the Road to BAL 2025.
And here's what you need to know.
West Division
Teams will be divided into two Groups: A and B, which will take place in Libya in Tripoli (October 10-12) and group C to be held in Douala, Cameroon (October 27 - November 1).
Following the withdrawal of Burkina Faso's Union Sportive des Forces Armees, seven teams will compete in the Libyan capital.
Teams were grouped as follows:
Group A: Al Ahly Tripoli (Libya), Kriol Star (Cape Verde) and Stade Malien (Mali).
Group B: ABC Fighters (Cote d'Ivoire), Elan Coton (Benin), Spintex Knights (Ghana) and Mighty Barolle (Liberia).
The teams that reach the Semi-Finals will advance to the Elite 16 Round - West Division in Abidjan (November 5-10).
How to watch the games
All games of Groups A and B will be streamed live on FIBA's Youtube channel.
What makes Groups A and B unique?
Except for ABC Fighters and State Malien, the remaining five teams are chasing their first appearance in the Basketball Africa League.
While the Malian champions finished third in the BAL season three, former African champions ABC Fighters came up short in the Quarter-Finals in 2023.
Tripoli
After Libya's impressive campaign in the first round of the 2025 FIBA AfroBasket, where they won two of their three games, and Al Ahly Ly's second place in the last edition of the BAL, there was only one thing missing in the puzzle to exemplify the growing popularity of basketball in the North African country: Tripoli, the host city Groups A and B.
Tripoli last hosted a major continental competition fifteen years ago when they co-hosted - with Benghazi - the 2009 FIBA AfroBasket.
Players to watch
Here's a fascinating list of players to watch out in Groups A and B in Tripoli.
- Walter Hodge (Al Ahly Tripoli) not only inspired Zamalek to the 2021 BAL title, but the Dominican-American point guard entered the history books as the first one to win the BAL Most Valuable Player award.
- Before Mohamed Sadi (Al Ahly Tripoli) featured for Senegal's AS Douanes in the BAL inaugural season, the terrific shooting guard played for Libyan outfit Al Naser, who finished 3-3 in the Road to BAL 2020.
- Ivan Almeida (Al Ahly Tripoli), a key member of Cape Verde national team in the last decade, has never played a clubs competition on African soil.
- Ali Lahrichi (Kriol Star) made his name for himself in recent years, and is often credited for helping Morocco to the fourth place at 2017 AfroBasket, their best result in the last three decades. An astute point guard, Lahrichi featured for AS Sale BC during the BAL season two.
Additional storylines
Kriol Star are the first team from Cape Verde islands to compete in the Road to BAL.
Spintex Knights are the second Ghanaian outfit - since Braves of Customs finished 0-4 in 2019 - to enter the qualifying race to the BAL.
Mighty Barolle are the second Liberian side - since NPA Pythons finished 1-3 in the 2019 - to compete in the Road to BAL.
Born on November 17, 1978, James Truman Bedeah (45) is the oldest to ever feature in the Road to BAL.
Kwame Owusu is one of the three 2007-born players in Groups A and B, but the Spintex Knights guard, who was born on July 27, 2007, is a few days younger than Mighty Barolle's Anthony Surprise Quadri (July 14, 2007) and Al Ahly Tripoli's Abdulrahman Alhinshri (April 25, 2007).
Can Coach Chakra keep his magic?
Veteran coach Fouad Bou Chakra has been highly praised for leading Libya to a 2-1 mark in the first round of the FIBA AfroBasket 2025, where they beat Nigeria and Uganda in Group B last February in Monastir, Tunisia. Can Lebanese Chakra maintain his magic in the Road to BAL?
FIBA