Qualifiers for the seventh edition of the Basketball Africa League will begin on October 21 and conclude with the Elite 16 tournament on November 22, the BAL has announced. Over four weeks, more than 20 clubs will compete across preliminary groups in the East and West divisions for places in the final stage.
In the West division, Group A will be played in Libya from October 21 to 25 and features Al Ittihad of Libya, Stade Malien of Mali, Nadi Staoueli of Algeria, Nabaya of Guinea and Kriol Star of Cape Verde. Group B brings together Energie BC of Benin, AS Douanes of Burkina Faso, Spintex Knights of Ghana, NPA Pythons of Liberia and Red Flames of Sierra Leone.
The East division begins with Group C in Brazzaville, Congo, from October 24 to 28, where ASB Onatra of DR Congo, FAP of Cameroon, Espoir Basketball of Gabon and Avenir du Rail of Republic of Congo will vie for two qualifying spots. Group D meets in Hoima, Uganda, with Urunani of Burundi, Patriots Basketball Club of South Sudan, Namuwongo Blazers of Uganda, COSPN of Madagascar and Ushundzi Basket of Comoros. Group E follows in Lusaka, Zambia, from October 27 to 31 and includes Munali Suns of Zambia, Bravehearts of Malawi, Ferroviario da Beira of Mozambique and Harare Kings of Zimbabwe.
The top two teams from each group will advance to the Elite 16. The West division Elite 16 runs from November 10 to 15 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, while the East division plays from November 17 to 22 in Nairobi, Kenya. The top two sides in each division earn tickets to the BAL 2027 season, with wild cards possibly awarded to complete the 16-team field.
Eight of the participating clubs featured in the previous edition, according to the league.
