The Basketball Africa League has unveiled six newly refurbished basketball courts in Côte d'Ivoire, Senegal and Nigeria, part of NBA Africa's commitment to build and renovate 1,000 courts across the continent over the next decade. Each site features upgraded playing surfaces, spectator seating and new basketball stanchions, with select locations also receiving modernised changing rooms, sanitation facilities and lighting.
The first two courts were opened on September 30 in Saint-Louis, Senegal, in collaboration with Senegalese national oil and gas company PETROSEN, and on October 3 in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, in collaboration with Wave Côte d'Ivoire. Additional courts are set for unveiling through December in Dakar, Joal and Guédiawaye in Senegal, and in Owerri, Nigeria, in collaboration with the Qatar Foundation.
Guédiawaye and Owerri will also host the first and second BAL4HER courts in Africa, with the Owerri launch supported by two-time WNBA All-Star and BAL Ambassador Chiney Ogwumike and her nonprofit Queens of the Continent. The Owerri court currently serves more than 300 participants across Imo State.
"These newly refurbished courts reflect our commitment to investing in communities and making the game more accessible to young people across Africa," BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall said. The Saint-Louis court at Université Gaston Berger sits within a UNESCO World Heritage site, while the Abidjan court at Groupe Scolaire Lac in Koumassi is expected to serve about 3,000 players weekly, including 2,500 students, and host a development programme for 300 girls aged 18 and under from eight schools.
