The Basketball Africa League (BAL) and Afreximbank, an official partner of the 2024 BAL season, will host a U23 "BAL4HER" basketball camp and a series of thought leadership discussions on the creative industries and sports business in Cairo, Egypt from Nov. 9-15 in conjunction with Creative Africa Nexus (CANEX), an Afreximbank initiative designed to support the creative industries in Africa, at the Intra-African Trade Fair. Twenty female players, two female referees, and two female table officials will participate in the camp at the Cairo International Stadium in Cairo on Nov. 12, which further speaks to the BAL's continuous efforts to support young women in communities around Africa who are interested in basketball and in developing careers in sports. "BAL4HER" seeks to promote gender equality among fans and local stakeholders and develop pipelines and recruitment opportunities for women to fully participate and be visible across BAL operations. Through BAL in-arena assets, team engagements, and collaborative efforts with corporate and community partners, the BAL provides support and brings awareness to organizations that advance gender equality. As part of CANEX, the BAL, and Afreximbank will also host a panel discussion "Leveraging the Cultural and Creative Industries for Economic Advancement Between Africa and the Diaspora" and a masterclass on the business of sports in Africa on Nov. 14 at the Al Manara Convention center. BAL merchandise will be available throughout CANEX via the league's exhibition booth at the event. "We are delighted to work with Afreximbank to positively impact the entire basketball ecosystem throughout our fourth season," said BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall. "As a pan-African bank deeply rooted in the continent, Afreximbank champions youth empowerment through the creative industries and various mentorship programs and we look forward to working together to expand the BAL's impact well beyond the lines of the court." The fourth BAL season will tip off in March 2024 in South Africa. It will feature the top 12 club teams from 12 African countries playing a record 48 games across four African countries – South Africa, Egypt, Senegal, and Rwanda – over four months in 2024, marking the first BAL games in South Africa and the first time the league will play in four different countries. In addition, for the first time, the 12 teams will be divided into three conferences of four teams each. Each conference will play a 12-game group phase during which each team will face the other three teams in its conference twice. The inaugural Kalahari Conference group phase will take place in March, followed by the Nile Conference group phase in April and the Sahara Conference group phase in May. The top two teams from each conference and the top two third-place teams from across the three conferences will travel to Rwanda for four seeding games followed by an eight-game single-elimination Playoffs and Finals from May – June.
