ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The clock is ticking fast for the 2024 FIBA U18 AfroBasket as ten out twelve teams have already ensured their presence in next month's biennial event.
The youth tournament will see twelve teams from all corners of Africa competing in Johannesburg, South Africa from Wednesday, August 28 to Sunday, September 8 for the right to secure the two tickets on offer for African countries for the 2025 FIBA U19 Basketball World Cup.
But until then, here's everything to know about the eagerly anticipated tournament.
Except for Egypt and Mali, no other team has ever won back-to-back U18 AfroBasket titles.
With two debutant teams and a number of top prospects heading to the Johannesburg showpiece, this year's event could be one of the most highly-contested of all time.
The semifinalists from the 2022 U18 AfroBasket - including winners Egypt, runners-up Madagascar, bronze medalist Mali and Angola - have all qualified automatically to the 2024 FIBA U18 AfroBasket.
The remaining eight spots are attributed through FIBA Africa Zone qualifiers, where the winner earns its spot to the Finals.
Besides the semifinalists from the last tournament, other teams qualified for this year's FIBA U18 AfroBasket include hosts South Africa, Morocco, Uganda, Cameroon, Senegal and Zambia.
The remaining two spots will be determined with the winners of FIBA Africa Zones 3 and 7.
Côte d'Ivoire is set to host FIBA Africa Zone 3 qualifiers July 31 to August 4 in Abidjan while Zone 7 is yet to confirm its schedule.
The FIBA U18 AfroBasket returns to South Africa for the first time since 2006 when Nigeria took home the gold medal with a flawless 6-0 mark.
Speaking of perfect records, only three other countries have finished undefeated in the competition over the last nine editions of the U18 AfroBasket.
Before Angola recorded a flawless 8-0 mark in 2016 in Rwanda and Mali outclassed their opponents with an 8-0 record, Egypt finished 8-0 in 2008.
Joining regular participants Egypt and Mali - a duo of teams that has never missed any edition of the tournament since 2008 - are debutants Zambia and Cameroon.
While Morocco will mark their first appearance in the tournament since 2012, South Africa are returning to the competition for the first time since 2006.
A team to beat this year, Egypt currently hold the most U18 AfroBasket titles with four gold medals achieved in 2008, 2010, 2014 and 2022. The Pharaohs are followed in the title race record by Mali who won twice in 2018 and 2020.
FIBA