The partnership between the Basketball Africa League and mobile money service Wave reached Abidjan's Koumassi district on 3 October 2026 with the inauguration of a renovated basketball court at the Grand Lac school, the second such facility in the Ivorian capital after Yopougon last November.
Started in Dakar two years ago, the BAL-Wave initiative aims to create opportunities for African youth through sport. The Koumassi court is used by more than 2,500 pupils and 300 young girls from the local community, designed to support both sport and wider development.
BAL president Amadou Gallo Fall, Wave Côte d'Ivoire director general Katier Bamba, and Ivorian Basketball Federation president Moussa Diarra attended the ceremony, alongside local customary authorities.
The BAL and its strategic partners, including Wave, aim to make nearly 1,000 basketball courts operational across the African continent over the next 10 years. Wave operates in Senegal, Côte d'Ivoire, Uganda, The Gambia, Sierra Leone, Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger.
Based in Senegal and born from a partnership between FIBA and NBA Africa, the BAL is a professional league grouping 12 club teams from across Africa.
