Things to know about the qualifying round for the 2024 BAL

 

ABIDJAN (Cote d'Ivoire) - The stage is now set for the start of the fourth edition of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) qualifiers (Road to BAL) that gets underway from October 2 with the curtain expected to come down on November 19.

The First Round of the Road to BAL is scheduled for October while the Second Round Elite 16 is slated for November.

As of September 19, nineteen clubs from all corners of Africa have registered for the First Round with a few more teams expected to join in the coming weeks.

Meanwhile, teams that competed in the last edition of the BAL will be automatically qualified for the Second Round Elite 16 , if they earn the right to represent their respective countries in the qualifiers.

Antananarivo is one of the five  host cities for the First Round  of the Road to BAL in October  

As has been the case in recent years, five cities will host the First Round of the Road to BAL qualifiers while the decisive Elite 16 round will take place in two other cities.

This year's Road to BAL comprises of East and West Divisions, with teams split into five groups.

Subsequently, the teams that finish in the first places of each group will advance to the Elite 16.

With the tentative dates for the event already released, the teams from across all FIBA Africa Zones will now have an opportunity to showcase their talent and attempt to qualify for the now popular continental premier league, the BAL.

Elan Coton  are set to return to the Road to BAL for the second straight season

East, West, North and South, the preparations are already in top gear for all the clubs entered in the competition this year - the ones making their maiden appearances as well as those who have been there before - they will have a point to prove.

The programme is slated to start off with Group E matches that will be played in Antananarivo, Madagascar from October 3-8.

It will then move to Groups A and B whose matches are set for Benghazi, Libya and Yaounde, Cameroon on the same date of October 6-10.

From October 10-15, the action will then swing to Dar Es Salaam, Tanzania who will play host to Group C matches.

Group D matches will see the last action that will be hosted by Gaborone, Botswana on October 17-22.

More details about the Road to BAL Group Phase will be available soon.

Last year, Stade Malien became the first club from the Road to BAL qualifiers to finish on the podium of the BAL

The potential participating teams in the First Round include: Elan Coton Club (Benin), FUS Rabat (Morocco), AS Nigelec (Niger), Ahly Benghazy (Lybia), FAP (Cameroon), Espoir Basket Club (Gabon), Bangui Sporting Club (Central African Republic), Sebeta City BBC (Ethiopia), Pazi Basketball Club (Tanzania), Dynamo Basketball Club (Burundi), Kenya Ports Authority (Kenya), Dolphins Basketball Club (Botswana), Bravehearts Basketball (Malawi), Munali Suns Basketball Club (Zambia), JBC Basketball Club (Zimbabwe), Ushindzi Club (Comoros), COSPN (Madagascar), Beau Vallon Heat (Seychelles), Roche-Bois Warriors (Mauritius). 

The table is already laid for the teams up here to prove their mettle. The only question that hangs in the sky is, "Who amongst the lot will move on to the next stage and book themselves a date for a possible brush against Africa's top cream?"

Heading the list of already qualified teams for the 2024 BAL Championship are title holders Al Ahly of Egypt, last year's losing finalists AS Douanes of Senegal and APR of Rwanda.

Completing the remaining slots are Angolan powerhouse Petro de Luanda who lost the bronze medal game to Stade Malien of Mali last year; 2022 champions US Monastir of Tunisia as well as a team from Nigeria who are yet to be named.

Once again it will be a race like no other and when the dust finally settles after these rounds of qualifying games, it will be all clear as to who moves to the next phase of the competition and who falls by the roadside.

FIBA