2024 SEASON: Five new teams and three new countries are among the 12 club teams from 12 African countries to compete in the new season which will tip off  at SunBet Arena in Pretoria

By Sports Reporter

The Basketball Africa League (BAL) has announced that five new teams and three new countries are among the 12 club teams from 12 African countries that will compete in the 2024 BAL season, which will tip off on Saturday, March 9 at SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa.

The fourth BAL season will feature a record 48 games in Pretoria; Cairo, Egypt; Dakar, Senegal; and Kigali, Rwanda, marking the first BAL games in South Africa and the first time the league will play games in four different countries.

The 12 teams have been divided into three conferences of four teams each.  Seven of the teams have competed in the BAL before, two of which – Petro de Luanda (Angola) and US Monastir (Tunisia) – will be competing for a record fourth season.  Five teams are making their BAL debut, including the first BAL teams from Burundi, Central African Republic and Libya.

Each conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice.  New this season, the home team in each market will play on every gameday, including on the weekends.

The inaugural Kalahari Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, March 9 – Sunday, March 17 at the SunBet Arena.

The Nile Conference group phase will take place from Friday, April 19 – Saturday, April 27 at Hassan Mostafa Indoor Sports Complex in Cairo.  The Sahara Conference group phase will take place from Saturday, May 4 – Sunday, May 12 at the Dakar Arena in Dakar.

The top two teams from each conference and the top two third-place teams from across the three conferences will travel to BK Arena in Kigali for four seeding games followed by an eight-game, single-elimination Playoffs and Finals from Friday, May 24 – Saturday, June 1.

In the season opener, first-time BAL participant FUS Rabat Basketball (Morocco) will face Petro de Luanda at 4:00 p.m. CAT.  In the second game, home team Cape Town Tigers (South Africa) will take on first-time BAL participant Dynamo Basketball Club (Burundi) at 7:00 p.m. CAT.  On the opening day of the Nile Conference, home team Al Ahly (Egypt) will begin its title defense against two-time BAL participant City Oilers (Uganda) at 5:00 p.m. GMT.

Champions from the national leagues in Angola, Egypt, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal and Tunisia earned their participation in the 2024 BAL season by winning their respective national leagues.

The remaining six teams, which come from Burundi, Central African Republic, Libya, Morocco, South Africa and Uganda, secured their participation through the Road to the BAL qualifying tournaments conducted by FIBA Africa across the continent from October to November 2023.

Rwanda Development Board, NIKE, Jordan Brand and Wilson will return as BAL Foundational Partners.  The league’s roster of world-class marketing partners also includes Afreximbank, Hennessy and RwandAir.

Additional information about the 2024 BAL season will be announced in the coming weeks.

‘KNOCKOUT CHAOS’ IN SAUDI ARABIA

BLOCKBUSTER:  This is yet another delivery of the best of boxing by Riyadh Season and fans right across the world are in for a real treat on March 8

By Sports Reporter

Anthony Joshua and Francis Ngannou to headline a show-stopping boxing extravaganza ‘Knockout Chaos’ as part of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh Season and DAZN, the global sports entertainment platform, today announce that ‘Knockout Chaos’ will be broadcast live on DAZN worldwide on Friday 8 March.

This boxing blockbuster event will also be broadcast via Sky in the UK. ‘Knockout Chaos’ will be headlined by former unified world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua as he takes on MMA superstar and new heavyweight contender Francis Ngannou at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

H.E Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority (GEA), states that: “‘Knockout Chaos’ is one of the most important events to take place in Riyadh Season so far this year, an occasion which will bring together yet more international champions from one of the most popular sports in the world.”

Frank Warren, the Hall of Fame promoter from Queensberry, said: “This is yet another blockbuster delivery of the best of boxing by Riyadh Season and fans right across the world are in for a real treat on March 8.

“I am obviously thrilled that Queensberry fighters feature so strongly on a card headlined by the big Joshua-Ngannou collision, with our top heavyweight contender Zhilei Zhang bidding to further reinforce his world title credentials, plus our leading featherweight Nick Ball fighting for the WBC world title against Rey Vargas. We also have an intriguing all-British lightweight clash for the European title between young puncher Mark Chamberlain and the much more experienced champion Gavin Gwynne.

“All in all, it is a must-see night of boxing and our appreciation, as always, goes to H.E. Turki Alalshikh and everyone involved in Riyadh Season for making it happen.”

Shay Segev, CEO of DAZN said: “DAZN is the undisputed home of boxing, and it is an honour to have been chosen by Riyadh Season again as their global broadcast and distribution partner for “Knockout Chaos”. We share Riyadh Season’s ambitions and look forward to repaying their trust by producing and broadcasting another blockbuster event Friday 8 March.”

Sky Sports Managing Director, Jonathan Licht, said: “As the unrivalled home for sports fans in the UK and Ireland, Sky Sports is thrilled to offer our customers the chance to watch this eagerly awaited clash.“

Previously the WBA, IBF and WBO world champion, Joshua completed a busy and successful year on 23 December 2023 when he defeated Otto Wallin in five rounds in a headline attraction on the ‘Day of Reckoning’ in Riyadh – a fight which marked his return to the Heavyweight elite and thrilled fans worldwide.

Ngannou, despite a narrow defeat to Tyson Fury, has earned his stripes and respect in the boxing world.

The bout earned Ngannou a top-ten WBC ranking as he secured the Joshua fight. Ngannou’s skills are still unknown.

The Fury fight raised questions over whether the WBC Heavyweight Champion had an off-night because he overlooked Ngannou or whether it was Ngannou who troubled Fury.

The winner will get a crack at the Undisputed Heavyweight Championship against Tyson Fury or Oleksandr Usyk. The latter two fight for all the belts on May 18. A win for Ngannou would pose a dilemma for his MMA career. Continual boxing success may mean further boxing bouts at the expense of MMA.

The undercard’s nothing to sniff at either, with a heavyweight clash featuring Zhilei Zhang and Joseph Parker, and Nick Ball taking on Rey Vargas for the WBC World Champion title. Mark Chamberlain and Gavin Gwynne are set to light up the lightweight division in an all-Brit bout.

Adding to the mix are Justis Huni, Roman Fury, Jack McGann, and Ziyad Almaayouf, all ready to show what they’re made of in Riyadh. With Riyadh Season pulling out all the stops, from art to sport, and DAZN making sure fans worldwide can catch every punch, ‘Knockout Chaos’ is set to be a no-holds-barred spectacle that’ll have everyone excited.