Basketball Africa League Kicks Off Sixth Season in Pretoria With Record 15 Marketing Partners

Amazon Web Services, PUMA, and Qatar Foundation among five new partners joining as BAL reaches fans across more than 200 countries

The Basketball Africa League has tipped off its sixth season at the SunBet Arena in Pretoria, South Africa, announcing a record 15 marketing and merchandising partners — including five new additions — as the continent’s premier professional basketball competition continues its rapid commercial and geographic expansion.

New partners Amazon Web Services, FLEXX, PUMA, Qatar Foundation, and South African Tourism join a returning roster that includes Foundational Partners Rwanda Development Board and Wilson, alongside Official Partners AB InBev, Afreximbank, Air Senegal, Hyundai, RwandAir, the French Embassy of Senegal, ServiceNow, and Wave.

A Growing Commercial Footprint

The breadth of the 2026 partner portfolio reflects the BAL’s evolution from a regional sports initiative into a commercially attractive continental property. BAL President Amadou Gallo Fall described the lineup as evidence of sustained momentum across the African sports industry. “We look forward to working with these amazing companies and organizations to engage BAL fans across the continent and around the world in new and creative ways throughout our sixth season,” he said.

Among the headline partnerships, PUMA joins as the league’s Official Outfitter — supplying all team, fan, and referee apparel including game uniforms, warm-up gear, and practice wear. Amazon Web Services takes on the role of Official Technology Provider, covering cloud computing, cloud AI, and cloud machine learning for the league. Qatar Foundation will support social impact and court development initiatives across all three host cities, while ServiceNow serves as Official Digital Transformation Partner.

Hyundai returns as Official Car Partner of the Kalahari Conference group phase running through April 5 in Pretoria, and Afreximbank continues its support of the BAL4HER and BAL Future Pros programmes, which deliver professional development training for African youth pursuing careers in sport.

Reaching 200 Countries and All 54 African Nations

The 2026 BAL season will be broadcast to fans in more than 200 countries and territories, including all 54 African countries. Broadcast partners across the continent include Canal+ and TV5 Monde on a pan-African basis, alongside national partners in Senegal, Morocco, Angola, and Mozambique. Globally, games will air on NBA TV, leading FAST platforms in the United States including Samsung, Roku, and Amazon Fire TV, Tencent Video and Tencent Sports in China, and through livestreaming on the NBA App for NBA ID members.

Three Host Cities, One Continental Stage

The season structure spans three host cities. The Kalahari Conference group phase runs in Pretoria through April 5, followed by the Sahara Conference group phase at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex in Rabat, Morocco, from April 24 to May 3. The BAL, a partnership between FIBA and NBA Africa headquartered in Dakar, Senegal, features 12 club teams from across the continent and represents the NBA’s first collaboration to operate a professional league outside North America.