Basketball Africa League Opens Second Season
2022-03-11
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1The second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) started last weekend in Dakar, Senegal.
2Twelve teams will compete this season for the BAL title.
3Last year, Egypt's Zamalek won the championship.
4The league was supposed to start in 2020, but was delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic.
5Last year, the season took place over two weeks in Kigali, Rwanda.
6This year, the schedule runs over three months and 38 games.
7They will be played in Dakar, Kigali and Cairo, Egypt.
8The BAL is supported by America's National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, basketball's international governing body.
9It is the first time the NBA has put money into a league outside of North America.
10Victor Williams is NBA Africa's president.
11At an event in Lagos, Nigeria, in February, he said the league is evidence of the NBA's interest in "growing the game across the continent."
12Sam Ahmedu is the president of FIBA Africa Zone 3, which includes Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation.
13He said the expanded number of games will permit more people to see games in person.
14"It will help to popularize the game and attract more sponsorship," he said.
15A sponsor is a well-known company that supports a sports organization with money.
16Beyond sponsorships from Nike and Pepsi, the league also has the support of former United States president Barack Obama who is working to help promote NBA Africa.
17The league announced in 2021 that Obama received part ownership of NBA Africa in return for his work.
18Obama said any money he receives will go to his foundation's programs in Africa.
19Dikembe Mutombo is a former NBA player from the Democratic Republic of Congo.
20He invested money to help start the league.
21Soccer is the most popular sport in Africa, but with a number of NBA players who are either from Africa or have an African parent, the sport of basketball is growing fast.
22There are about 50 NBA players with African roots.
23The most famous are Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors.
24The league is hoping to help little-known players improve their game and get attention. Last season, 15 scouts watched the league.
25This year, each BAL team will have a young player from the NBA Academy Africa, a training center in Saly, Senegal, for teenage players.
26The program will provide another pathway for good African players "to reach their potential as players and people," said Amadou Gallo Fall. He is the BAL president.
27One team leader, however, believes athletes should not only play to try to make the NBA, but to make the BAL a great league.
28"I believe the BAL will grow as big as the NBA and bigger," said Relton Booysen, coach of the Cape Town Tigers, a new team in the BAL.
29Regardless of whether the BAL becomes successful throughout Africa, one observer believes the new league will serve as a form of cultural exchange.
30Scott Brooks is associate director of Arizona State University's Global Sport Institute.
31He said when an American sport like basketball becomes more visible in a foreign country, it affects both cultures.
32"It's not just American culture taking over. We always get a piece of other cultures coming back," he said.
33"That's what really makes this exciting."
34Brooks said something like the BAL is more than basketball.
35"It is building leaders in Africa," he said.
36Those interested in following the BAL can hear VOA's broadcasts of the games on the radio in Africa.
37VOA will cover the games in English, French, Portuguese and two African languages: Kinyarwanda and Wolof.
38Video of the games will be on the internet at TheBAL.com and NBA.com.
39I'm Dan Friedell.
1The second season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL) started last weekend in Dakar, Senegal. 2Twelve teams will compete this season for the BAL title. Last year, Egypt's Zamalek won the championship. 3The league was supposed to start in 2020, but was delayed a year by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last year, the season took place over two weeks in Kigali, Rwanda. This year, the schedule runs over three months and 38 games. They will be played in Dakar, Kigali and Cairo, Egypt. 4The BAL is supported by America's National Basketball Association (NBA) and FIBA, basketball's international governing body. It is the first time the NBA has put money into a league outside of North America. 5Victor Williams is NBA Africa's president. At an event in Lagos, Nigeria, in February, he said the league is evidence of the NBA's interest in "growing the game across the continent." 6Sam Ahmedu is the president of FIBA Africa Zone 3, which includes Nigeria, Africa's most populous nation. 7He said the expanded number of games will permit more people to see games in person. 8"It will help to popularize the game and attract more sponsorship," he said. 9A sponsor is a well-known company that supports a sports organization with money. 10Beyond sponsorships from Nike and Pepsi, the league also has the support of former United States president Barack Obama who is working to help promote NBA Africa. The league announced in 2021 that Obama received part ownership of NBA Africa in return for his work. Obama said any money he receives will go to his foundation's programs in Africa. 11Dikembe Mutombo is a former NBA player from the Democratic Republic of Congo. He invested money to help start the league. 12Basketball's African future 13Soccer is the most popular sport in Africa, but with a number of NBA players who are either from Africa or have an African parent, the sport of basketball is growing fast. 14There are about 50 NBA players with African roots. The most famous are Giannis Antetokounmpo of the Milwaukee Bucks, Joel Embiid of the Philadelphia 76ers and Pascal Siakam of the Toronto Raptors. The league is hoping to help little-known players improve their game and get attention. Last season, 15 scouts watched the league. 15This year, each BAL team will have a young player from the NBA Academy Africa, a training center in Saly, Senegal, for teenage players. 16The program will provide another pathway for good African players "to reach their potential as players and people," said Amadou Gallo Fall. He is the BAL president. 17One team leader, however, believes athletes should not only play to try to make the NBA, but to make the BAL a great league. 18"I believe the BAL will grow as big as the NBA and bigger," said Relton Booysen, coach of the Cape Town Tigers, a new team in the BAL. 19Regardless of whether the BAL becomes successful throughout Africa, one observer believes the new league will serve as a form of cultural exchange. 20Scott Brooks is associate director of Arizona State University's Global Sport Institute. He said when an American sport like basketball becomes more visible in a foreign country, it affects both cultures. 21"It's not just American culture taking over. We always get a piece of other cultures coming back," he said. "That's what really makes this exciting." 22Brooks said something like the BAL is more than basketball. "It is building leaders in Africa," he said. 23Those interested in following the BAL can hear VOA's broadcasts of the games on the radio in Africa. VOA will cover the games in English, French, Portuguese and two African languages: Kinyarwanda and Wolof. 24Video of the games will be on the internet at TheBAL.com and NBA.com. 25I'm Dan Friedell. 26Dan Friedell adapted this story for Learning English based a report by Voice of America's Sonny Young and Carol Guensburg. 27Will you follow the Basketball Africa League this year? Let us know. Write to us in the Comments Section and visit our Facebook page. 28Words in This Story 29title - n. the position of being champion in a sport 30promote- v. to make people aware of something, such as a new product 31scout - n. a person whose job it is to look for talented performers 32teenage - adj. between 13 and 19 years old 33potential - n. a quality that something has that can be developed to make it better 34global - adj. involving the entire world