The qualification for the 2026 BAL season, also known as Road to BAL 2026, were the qualifying tournaments for the sixth season of the Basketball Africa League (BAL). The tournaments were organised by FIBA Africa.
The competition began on 17 October and ended in 22 November 2025.
Teams The official list of teams were announced by FIBA on 3 October 2025.
Dynamo was supposed to represent Burundi as national champions, however, it was not able to meet the deadlines, including the pending suspension after their withdrawal from the 2024 BAL season, which occurred after the Burundian government disallowed the team to wear the Rwandan sponsor, following political tensions between the two nations.
West Division AssociationTeamQualification methodRef.Entered in Elite 16 Cape VerdeKriol StarEntered in first roundElan Coton2025 Benin Basketball Super League championsAS Douanes2025 Burkinabé Men's Basketball Championship championsNew Tech Bantou DR CongoNew GenerationJCA2025 Ligue d'Or championsMoanda2025 Gabonese Basketball Cup championsSpintex Knights2025 Accra Basketball League championsCentre Fédéral de Guinée CRB Tombouctou2025 Ligue 1 championsLPRC Oilers2024–25 LFA First DivisionAl Ahly Ly2024–25 Libyan Division I Basketball League
East Division AssociationTeamQualification methodRef.Entered in Elite 16 KenyaNairobi City Thunder2024–25 KBF Premier League champions CameroonBEAC2024–25 Elite Messieurs championsEntered in first roundNamuwongo Blazers1st ranked team in 2025 NBL UgandaDolphins2025 Botswana Basketball League championsDynamo2025 Burundian Basketball ChampionshipDjabalFerroviário da Beira2024 Liga Moçambicana de Basquetebol championsCOSPN2025 N1A championsBravehearts2025 BASMAL National Championship championsJohannesburg Giants2025 South African National Basketball Championship championsDar City2024 National Basketball League championsMatero Magic2024–25 Zambia Basketball League championsBasket Hounds2025 BUZ National Championship champions
First round The group stage began on 17 October and ended on 29 October. The venues for each group were announced on 15 October 2025.
West Division
Group A Venue: Bamako, Mali
Group B Venue: Abidjan, Ivory Coast
Group C Venue: Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo
Ranking of third-placed teams
East Division
Group D Venue: Dar es Salaam, Tanzania
Group E Venue: Lusaka, Zambia
Elite 16 On 31 October 2025, Nairobi, Kenya and Praia, Cape Verde were announced as host venues.
West Division New Tech Bantou was forced to withdraw after it was unable to travel to Praia.
Group A
Group B
Final round
Semi-finals
Third place game
Final
East Division
Group A
Group B
Final round
Semifinals
Third place game
Final
Notes
References