CHARLOTTE, N.C. \u2014 The NBA is bringing a pro league to Africa.<\/p>\n
The Basketball Africa League, a new collaboration between the NBA and the sport\u2019s global governing body FIBA, was announced Saturday. The initial plan is for the 12-team league to begin play in January, and former President Barack Obama is among those who are expected to have direct involvement with the league\u2019s plan to keep growing the game in Africa through the league and other initiatives.<\/p>\n
The scope of what Obama\u2019s involvement will be remains unknown, and it\u2019s yet to be determined which existing club teams will be part of the league. Qualification tournaments will be held later this year to determine those clubs, with teams from Angola, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco, Nigeria, Rwanda, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia expected to be among those taking part. No nation will have more than two teams in the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cAs we\u2019ve been talking about this concept over the last several months, there\u2019s been a tremendous reception from many of our NBA team owners \u2026 and in addition, several of the partners of the NBA have expressed a strong desire to work with us in Africa,\u201d Silver said.<\/p>\n
Silver said Pepsi and Nike\u2019s Jordan Brand \u2014 Charlotte owner Michael Jordan was among the owners in the room where Silver made the announcement \u2014 are among the partners who have reached out to the NBA and said they want to be part of the Africa league. Silver also said that Obama, an enormous basketball fan, has told him he wants to \u201cbe directly involved with these activities in Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n
Silver said talks between the NBA and Obama are ongoing. Obama spoke on a video that was shown during the event where Silver announced the league.<\/p>\n
\u201cI hope you know through sport, that if you put in effort, you will be rewarded,\u201d Obama said. \u201cI hope you learn through sport what it means to play as a team, and even if you are the best player, your job is not just to show off but your job is to make your teammates better.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NBA and FIBA\u2019s involvement will include financial support and resources toward continued growing of the game on the continent, as well as providing training for players, coaches and referees and some infrastructure for the new league. Silver said there are 438 companies in Africa that generate more than $1 billion in revenue annually, but that sport there has not seen the same growth \u2014 yet.<\/p>\n
\u201cAfrica is a huge economic engine,\u201d Silver said. \u201cAnd one place, though, where we haven\u2019t seen enormous economic growth yet is in the industry of sport. And that\u2019s something that we are all particularly focused on.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NBA has held three games in Africa since 2015, all of them selling out \u2014 two games in Johannesburg, the other in Pretoria. Many of the league\u2019s current players and coaches, along with several legends and Hall of Famers, have been part of those trips.<\/p>\n
\u201cI went with them last year,\u201d Basketball Hall of Famer Kareem Abdul-Jabbar said. \u201cThe NBA reaches out across the world.\u201d<\/p>\n
The league has an office in South Africa, has helped create 87 learn-and-play facilities in seven African nations, and 13 players who were born in Africa on opening-night NBA rosters this season. The league also built an academy in Senegal that opened nearly two years ago.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a huge joy to see our partnership with the NBA enter unchartered territory as we work together for the first time to maximize the potential of professional basketball in Africa,\u201d said Andreas Zagklis, FIBA\u2019s secretary general.<\/p>\n
This marks the first time the NBA has been involved with the operation of a league outside of North America.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re excited to work closely with the NBA to develop and put in a place a professional league like none that we have ever seen in our region before,\u201d said FIBA Africa Executive Director Alphonse Bile. \u201cThrough the Basketball Africa League, we can provide the many great clubs and players with the best possible environment to compete for the highest stakes.\u201d<\/p>\n
The NBA says more details about the new league will be released in the coming months.<\/p>\n